From Death Itself
by Vesper1994
Summary: When Kirby wakes up after her induced coma, she finds the angel of death, Sidney Prescott, waiting for her. Both of them have something in common. They're survivors... But for how long?
1. Chapter 1

It was much too bright- and her hand felt clammy.

Slowly inhaling, as if breathing a new life into her body, Kirby fought with all her might to achieve the small triumph in allowing her eyes to flicker. She didn't think it would ever be such a massive deal to simply open her eyes, something she had taken for granted when her alarm would wake her every morning.

The blaring hospital lights caused her nose to scrunch in distaste and her hand twitched, seemingly stirring the person whose hand was grasped around her own. The soft weight felt familiar, strange and comforting all at the same time, and through her dazed, sleepy blurriness, Kirby could just abouts make out the outline of a feminine figure. She had a head of dark hair… and her hand was so so warm. She didn't want to let go.

"_M-Mom?"_

Sidney had just allowed herself the small mercy of allowing sleep to infiltrate her system. It was silly really, but as soon as she had been able to heal and question whether anyone had survived the latest Woodsboro massacre, she had felt a weight lifted when Dewey had confirmed that Kirby had survived.

She had recalled the frantic events of the evening that had taken place almost a month ago to this very date. Hidden in the basement, trying to stay away from the masked figure that had pursued her through the house, she had stood with Kirby and tried to keep her quiet, keep her safe.

Trust had never been Sidney's strong point. Trust let her down, trust had made her weak and she couldn't be that person anymore. However, looking into the young blonde woman's eyes, she had been startled to see just how much she saw of herself within Kirby. Sidney had trusted her immediately, but then she had left Kirby for dead- and it had stuck with her.

In her novel, she had spoken of survivor's guilt within the first couple of years. So many of her friends and loved ones had ended up dead because they were used as pawns to get to her. Tatum, Randy, Haley, Derek, Kate…even her brief romance with Kincaid had died because of her issues. Of course, he hadn't blamed her for what became of them. He was a gentleman, even when she was screaming at him and pushing him away. But pushing away was easier than having to watch him carted off in a body bag.

But she'd come out of that. Or at least, she thought she had.

As soon as she had heard that Kirby had indeed survived her stabbing, Sidney's goal was to recover. She rested, took it easy, took her medication. Even at her lowest point where it would have been so easy to crawl back into the shell she had built up, protecting herself and everyone else from an untimely fate, she had entertained Dewey and Gale, smiled and embraced them. She kept a straight face and waited until she could walk, and when she could she was by Kirby's side.

It sounded ridiculous really. Sidney had been aware of that, of course. She was of no real relation to Kirby, she wasn't even what one might regard as a friend. But that night in the basement, those few moments shared were something that only the two of them would ever know. The infinite trust, the reliance they had to have on each other… Kirby was the first person who had never really let her down.

So, she tried to help. Sidney read news articles (making sure to definitely leave out the majority that explored the horror of the night). Kirby's phone had been returned to her, screen smashed but still working, and Sidney had played some of her favourite music to try and rouse her. Small talk about the weather and idle chat about favourite foods and celebrities was pointless, but at least she felt like she was doing… _something_.

Two weeks of this and all she had received was the slight twitch of a hand or the flicker of an eyelid. Sidney was not stupid, and she knew that they were simply reactions to being placed in a coma. But in her mind Kirby Reed was a survivor, and she wasn't about to leave her in the hospital by herself. She had been the one to let Kirby down that night, but she wasn't about to let her down again.

But recovery was recovery, and Sidney's body was still trying to repair itself from surprisingly similar wounds to Kirby's, and she had succumbed to sleep for only a few moments when she felt the twitch of Kirby's hand. It wasn't unusual.

"_M-Mom?"_

Sidney's bewilderment was quickly replaced with sheer relief at the sound of Kirby's voice. It was croaky, disoriented and confused- but it was her voice, nonetheless. Her heart ached as she heard Kirby call out for her mother- and part of her wondered why she wasn't here by her daughter's bedside.

Clasping her hand just that little tighter, Sidney raised her head enough for Kirby to see her properly- and once her vision cleared, she could tell because panic flooded through Kirby's eyes almost instantaneously. The machine that was observing her vitals became high pitched and increased in its frequency.

"Please! Please don't let him!" Kirby cried, her arms flailing and spasming in her reaction to their first use in four weeks.

"Kirby, it's alright! It's me…Sidney." Sidney had stood up now, and was desperately trying to calm the younger woman by running her hands through Kirby's matted and bloodstained hair. "It's over…It's over."

She didn't get to say much more because of the influx of doctors and nurses that flooded into the room. Because of Kirby's condition, it meant that she was on high observation by the staff (not to mention they were all on high alert after the incident with Jill that first night) so the drastic change had alerted them that something was really wrong.

"If you wouldn't mind stepping out for a while, ma'am," one of the nurses quickly ushered Sidney out. They weren't concerned about her presence there, they knew of the incident regarding both of them- but they needed to regulate Kirby's breathing and settle her.

Sidney didn't protest. She was exhausted from just observing the hospital staff attempting to restrain Kirby's arms and legs as she kicked and thrashed, tearing out her canular in the process. Her eyes were wild with confusion and fright- and there was no wonder. This was going to be the most difficult few weeks of her life.

But as Sidney returned to her own room, shutting the door and closing the blinds on the monitoring window, she decided she had to be there. She owed it to Kirby.

Sidney awoke with a start only a few hours later to the opening of her door. Nobody came through the door immediately, and she slowly hitched herself up in the bed. Ignoring the temporary strain from the last set of stitches and against her better judgement, she called out.

"Hello? Is someone there?"

Instincts kicking in immediately, she searched around in desperation for a weapon, anything she could use to defend herself with. Upon realising she had limited options, she unplugged the lamp from the side and picked it up. Not quite the blade or gun she would hope for, but it had some weight behind it.

Standing up, Sidney's legs trembled as she slowly made her way towards the door. The lamp was raised behind her in preparation for attack. She took a few steady breaths before leaping out, ready to injure anyone who had thought it would be a good idea to creep around.

Silence.

The hallway of the ward was isolated, empty and dark- and Sidney detected something wrong almost immediately. She didn't get time to dwell on the silence though as she heard a large bang echoing from the other side of the room, causing Sidney to twist and face the direction of the noise.

Her breathing was sharp now, quick and frightened. The window that she had always kept firmly shut had been pushed upwards. She hadn't done that. But somebody else had- and she wasn't about to stay and find out who the hell was behind it.

Still with the lamp in her hand, Sidney fled from her room into the hall, checking each room to see if she could find someone, _anyone_ to help her.

As her brisk walk turned to running, then turned to sprinting, Sidney wasn't sure whether the thudding she heard were footsteps closely following her, or her heartbeat throbbing in her ears- and in the height of panic, the next door she came to that was open became her sanctuary and she quickly shut it and held the door handle. There was no lock on the handle, so her hold would have to do.

Silence came over the scene again, and Sidney forced her breathing to quieten, trying to listen to any sign of life.

There were footsteps.

Slow, purposeful, slick strides that seemed to ooze confidence and assurance. She felt like a mouse being toyed with by a hawk. And as the footsteps grew closer and closer, a new sound infiltrated Sidney's senses.

The unsheathing of something cool, metallic…sharp. The blade of a knife. Squeezing her eyes shut for a moment, Sidney bit back tears, trying to decide what to do as a new sound was present, she could hear the holder of the weapon scraping it along the hospital walls. She could almost feel it vibrating through her and clutched the door handle even harder, resisting the urge not to throw up.

Then it stopped.

Closing her sweaty palms around the handle like her life depended on it, Sidney had the lamp under her arm- which dropped to the floor as someone at the opposite side of the door grabbed the handle, beginning to rattle and shake it with ferocious motive, attempting to wrench it open as Sidney screamed, leaning back and holding on to it for dear life.

After a few moments of trying, the door stilled and Sidney wondered why the hell it had. This door was protecting her from whatever was trying so desperately to get in.

"_Sidney…"_

The voice didn't come from outside the door.

Before she had chance to turn around, Sidney felt two hands grab her forearms, dragging her back into the darkness. She was falling, she couldn't stop.

"Sid!"

Sidney's eyes flew open and she saw the familiar face of Dewey looming over her, panic and concern etched into his eyes.

"It was just a dream, Sidney. You're alright." Another familiar voice this time, and Sidney turned her head to see Gale standing at the other side of her, her unbandaged arm clutching Sidney's still-flailing one.

It took a few minutes to come around properly. Her pyjamas were sticking to her skin through sweat and every sound that wasn't Dewey or Gale's voice had her on high alert.

Once settled, Gale had taken her leave to go and grab everyone a coffee. She was under no impression that she and Sidney were anywhere near as close as her husband and Sidney were- and the small snippets of conversation would be relayed back to her that night by Dewey anyway.

"I've just been to see Kirby," Dewey introduced the topic of conversation, leaning back in the visiting chair once he knew that Sidney was conscious enough to know that no harm was going to come to her.

Sidney nodded slowly, feeling embarrassed and uncomfortable by the show she had just made of herself. She knew that Dewey didn't pay it any mind, of course. He had his own monsters that wore the exact same mask.

"It's good to see she's awake." Sidney eventually replied, picking at a loose cotton thread on her sheet.

"Awake but asleep, the doctors had to sedate her a little- just to keep her relaxed enough. Seems like another thing you two have in common, two sets of stitches." He smiled weakly at his feeble attempt at a joke, and Sidney had the grace to respond with the same weak smile.

"How much does she know?" Sidney asked, wondering what must be going through her mind at that moment. The feeling of being targeted by a serial killer was one thing; that serial killer being your best friend was a completely different level of betrayal.

"Nothing as of yet. As Sheriff of the investigation, it's my responsibility to explain, but I figured you might want to do that." He trailed off, relieved when Sidney nodded. Nobody really knew the real her anymore, Sidney wasn't even sure she knew who she was after the latest attack, but Dewey was the person who came closest.

The opening of the door startled Sidney, and she immediately tensed up, only to relax when Gale walked in with two large coffees, a young man in a uniform assisting her with the final one and handing it to Sidney.

"I'll be overlooking the next couple of evening shifts between you and Miss Reed, ma'am." He explained, smiling at Sidney in way of introduction. "I'm Adam Burke, pleased to meet you."

Sidney was surprised when she heard the surname of the officer in front of her. Woodsboro was a small town and everybody knew everyone. So, she didn't forget the boy she used to babysit for.

"As in, Sheriff Joseph Burke's son? The last time I saw you, you were putting up a massive fight about going to sleep so early." She looked at Adam's confused face and couldn't help but chuckle. "I was your sitter sometimes, not often."

"Oh," Adam stammered, a quiet blush rising onto his cheeks as he shuffled in his stiff uniform, it was ironed to the point and quite obviously new. "Apologies ma'am, I don't really remember much before the first… well…" He was positively beetroot now.

Gale rolled her eyes at the newbie.

"Adam is just finishing his training with the academy and has just joined Woodsboro county police." She didn't mince her words. "He will be taking the nightshifts with Dewey and Hicks-for experience," She added.

"I just thought I'd introduce myself is all, can't be great having unfamiliar people around the place after everything." Adam added, shuffling once more- clearly not sure whether to stay or leave.

Dewey smiled at Adam, almost like a father comforting a son.

"You did right, Adam. Go to your station with Hicks and I'll be along shortly."

Adam nodded, grateful for the sign that he should leave as he made his swift exit.

Dewey looked pointedly at Gale, who was taking a sip of her coffee when she made eye contact with her husband.

"What?"

"Do you have to emasculate and terrorize every single one of my officers?" he asked.

Sidney had to admit she was enjoying the playful bickering between the pair, it was a distraction from the underlying issue of what she was going to have to tell Kirby.

After another hour, Dewey and Gale took their leave, with promise that Dewey would be back the following morning to provide moral support for both Sidney and Kirby. The sooner she found out, the sooner they could all once again start picking up the pieces.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two- A Numbing Guilt**

There was a point where Sidney had craved silence. She had craved it when her mom's murder came to light within the press. She craved silence through the court-case, when the dazzling flashes of the camera had startled her, and countless microphones had been thrust forward to her face. The screams and shouts of reporters bellowing her name as she just tried to get into school had haunted her.

College had been a brief reprieve. She'd travelled over two thousand miles away, telling herself she wasn't running, but that instead it was a new start. Windsor College had the familiarity of Woodsboro with the likes of Randy and theatre, something she had always enjoyed. But then it started again. The attacks, the murders, the questions, the constant suspicion.

Even wiping her name off the face of the planet had not been enough.

Yet here she was, laid in the hospital bed. Sidney gently trailed her nails over her pale blue vest top, the pads of her fingers gently brushing against the jaggedness of the stitches holding her wound in place whilst it healed. It didn't hurt so sharply anymore, but it did ache.

A soft sigh escaped her and she turned her attention to the clock on the wall.

_3am_

_Tick. Tick. Tick._

Many found the sound soothing, lulled in by the consistency of the rhythm and the slight twitch of the hand that directed the seconds. To Sidney, however, the sound was infuriating.

After what felt like years, she reached above her bed and pushed the buzzer for the attention of the nurses on night shift, and minutes later one entered with haste.

"Hi, Sidney." The warm smile of the woman instinctively made her relax. She hadn't even known she was still tense. Clarisse had been there in the aftermath of the final encounter with Jill. She had helped lift her up from the floor and tend to her gaping wound that had been split open in the struggle. Nearly a month later, and Clarisse had made sure she was there to tend to her through various shifts.

"Hi, Clarisse. Sorry to bother you, but I'm in a lot of pain and… Tylenol or aspirin just aren't cutting it." Sydney excused; her hand rested on her stomach for good measure.

Clarisse's smiling face turned to a look of concern as she grabbed the folder at the end of the bed and checked through her medication, scanning over the page as her eyes flew from left to right before she tapped her pen and smiled at her.

"I can give you some liquid morphine, honey. That will definitely stop the pain until morning, then we can get a Doctor to come take a look at how that wound is healing." She offered.

Sidney nodded gratefully in thanks, slowly sinking back into the pillows as she waited for Clarisse to return. It wasn't like she hadn't struggled with sleep before. All her life, she had woken up due to constant and repetitive night terrors. Not only that, but she struggled to fully engage in sleep. It was like she had one ear open for the creak of a door… or the footsteps silently approaching.

Just the thought of not fully having control of what was going to happen made Sidney feel clammy and nervous, but she took a deep breath and exhaled. She needed the sleep, and Hicks and Burke were patrolling the floor of the hospital like their lives depended on it.

That was the issue… it wasn't their lives that depended on it, it was _hers._

When Clarisse returned with the morphine in a transparent pot, Sidney wasted no time in knocking it back like a shot of Patrón. If she thought too much about it, she wouldn't take it – and she'd learned from experience that exhaustion was just as lethal as the vulnerability that came with sleep.

The shuffling of hands grasping at the pull-cord of the blinds, accompanied by the sound of the slats being pulled to open alerted Sidney that she was not alone. The momentary panic that completely crushed her chest was settled when her bleary eyes focused, and she recognised the shade of blue that was a nurse's uniform in the room with her.

"Good morning Miss Prescott." A male nurse greeted, then checked the clock. "I suppose I should have waited a few minutes to say good afternoon instead!"

Sidney glanced at the clock that was still ticking incessantly, and she looked surprised when she realised that it was almost noon.

"I didn't realise I had slept for so long," Sidney replied slowly. The aftermath of the morphine was hitting her like a ton of bricks. A headache, dry mouth and a brain that felt it had been surrounded by cotton wool.

"Well your body is still recovering and clearly needed it." The nurse retorted chirpily, turning to face her before continuing. "Sheriff Riley is waiting to pay a visit, but I can always hold him off whilst you wake up properly."

"Thanks…" Sidney trailed off, resting her hand on her forehead and rubbing at her temples, as if trying to physically mould herself into consciousness.

Around twenty minutes or so later, Sidney was dressed in a baggy t-shirt and loose-fitting sweats that Gale had been kind enough to get for her. Not her usual attire but she needed garments that would not rub or irritate her stomach, and she wasn't one for just sitting in pyjamas all day.

After knocking and waiting for permission to enter, Dewey walked through to her room, decked out in official police uniform, though he removed his hat as soon as he saw Sidney waiting for him.

"Hicks mentioned you had a rough night." Dewey trailed off, taking a perch on the chair he had been sitting in the previous night.

Raising her eyebrow, Sidney sat up a little straighter and turned to face him fully, swinging her legs off of the bed carefully.

"I didn't realise that Hicks was in charge of overlooking my administered medication." She retorted, managing to keep a straight face as she watched Dewey become a little flustered.

"She cares about you, Sid. We all do and-"

"I know, Dewey." Sidney interrupted before he could start his spiel about her being a survivor and how many people were relieved that she had lived through yet another ordeal. Privately, she considered what the ratio was of people who were relieved to people who wish she'd been six feet under so that this would stop happening.

The silence between them was palpable for a few moments until Dewey shifted in the chair and cleared his throat.

"Kirby is doing well. They're thinking of moving her out of ICU and further down the ward. Less monitoring." Dewey informed her, then quickly corrected "Twenty-four hour police watch, of course. But in a more stable position health-wise."

"Are the police necessary anymore?" Sidney asked. It wasn't that she wasn't grateful that there were people around who were armed and vigilant, but it did make her feel like something else was going on. "Jill and Charlie are both dead, surely that's the end of it?"

"Where have I heard that one before?" Dewey quipped, his own eyebrow raised in response to Sidney's statement. "It's just as much for us as it is for you and Kirby. Just so there's no…" He hesitated for a brief moment. "Backlash. People see stories like this and their imaginations run wild and they do stupid things. We just want to keep you away from all that."

Sidney nodded in response to Dewey's reasoning. What he said was perfectly justified, and as said before, she certainly wasn't about to decline the extra protection. Jill and Charlie might have been dead, but the aftermath of what they had done would linger permanently.

"Was she awake when you went to see her?" Sidney asked, reaching out for her glass of water and taking her usual painkillers.

"I haven't been to see her yet- I just looked through the window of the room on my way up here and got talking to one of the ICU staff." Dewey explained, straightening up slightly. "Are you sure you want to be the one to explain? I'll be there in case you need support."

He knew that offer would fall on deaf ears though. In the whole time that he had known Sidney Prescott, she had never needed support to do anything. The term had been thrown around in the tabloids a lot. _Survivor._ But there was no better word to describe her. He had conversed with Gale many times about how she could still be a living, breathing person instead of being in a state of catatonic fear- and they were still no closer to working it out.

"I owe her that much. I left her alone in that basement knowing she was dealing with the killer. She wouldn't be in this state if it wasn't for me."

"Sid," Dewey sighed. They had been through this statement so many times, and no matter how much he told her that Kirby's injuries weren't Sidney's fault, she still didn't entertain the idea. "Whether you were there or not, Kirby could still have been injured. You acted on instinct and went to find Jill," he trailed off as Sidney scoffed.

"And what a great plan that was. Meanwhile, Kirby was being murdered when I went to save someone who didn't need saving at all." The bitterness in Sidney's tone was palpable, and Dewey knew not to try and comfort her again. He had learnt that after many years, Sidney was her own harshest critic.

"You can't save everyone, Sidney." He eventually spoke, once the silence had grown too uncomfortable to bear.

"But I can try."

After forming a brief plan over what she was going to say, then realising that the concept of trying to come up with a script to explain how her friends had tried to murder her was completely and utterly ridiculous, Sidney had decided to play it by ear. That was assuming that Kirby wanted to talk to her because she wouldn't blame the young woman at all if she didn't want to hear a word of it.

The walk to ICU seemed longer and more daunting, trepidation and a deep sense of nausea coming in waves with each step. Although Sidney had learnt to maintain a straight and expressionless face in times of adversity, inside her nerves were twisting and the light headache she had put down to too much sleep from the morphine was now developing into a full-blown throb.

Standing outside of Kirby's room, Sidney watched the sheet that covered Kirby's body rise and fall as the girl slept. It was something, she had decided, that many people took for granted. The simple, yet beautiful art of inhaling and exhaling. Living was a luxury that she had nearly lost so many times- and part of her didn't want to disturb Kirby from her slumber.

"She's asleep. Maybe we should come back." Sidney stated softly, not tearing her eyes away from the figure that looked so small and frail in such a large hospital bed, the steady hum from the machines telling everyone near that there was nothing to worry about medically. Even when Sidney had said it, she hadn't really believed that coming back was really an option, but she pushed on- not quite knowing why. "She's going to have to live with this for the rest of her life, a few more hours of peace…" she trailed off this time, because she knew she was talking absolute trash.

"She has to wake up sometime, Sid. Now is as good a time as any." Dewey gently prompted, avoiding the lecture and official business route, because he knew that Sidney understood that the sooner Kirby knew about this, the sooner she could start putting her life back together.

Nodding slowly, Sidney shifted herself away from the window and grasped the metal handle of the door, her mind briefly flashing back to the dream she had encountered when she had napped the previous afternoon. However, she swallowed her fears and anxiety and pushed the door open, gently letting herself in as Dewey followed her closely behind.

Although Kirby was indeed alive, judging by the machines bleeping and her chest wavering under the sheets, Sidney couldn't ignore how awful she looked. For someone who had been in an induced coma, she looked exhausted. Her previously golden skin looked grey and taut, her stylish blonde chop was matted with blood still and unkempt. The nurses had tried their best, but Kirby looked half dead, and that really did startle Sidney.

Looking at Dewey unsurely, Sydney reached out to give the woman's hand a gentle squeeze and shake, hoping that she wouldn't startle her too much.

To her relief, a slow groan escaped Kirby's cracked lips and her eyes flickered open, a little easier than when she had first come out of the coma at her own accord.

"It's good to see you awake, Kirby." Sidney told her, gently squeezing her hand again. "Stupid question, but how are you feeling?"

Kirby seemed to pause, as if considering her answer as her eyes shifted from Sidney to Dewey, before they settled back onto Sidney.

"Like I've been gutted."

And despite everything, all the worry about going into details of what was going to be the most horrific night of Kirby's life… Sidney smiled. Something told her that this girl was going to be alright.


	3. Chapter 3

The silence between Sidney, Kirby and Dewey that followed Kirby's weak quip about being gutted hung in the air like a sulphurous smell. The humour had been a brief reprieve, but it was quickly replaced by a heavy sense of something that was almost too imperceptible to notice. It was like a blanket of grief had settled in the air.

Dewey sensed the uneasiness in the air and cleared his throat, reaching up and removing his hat, resting it on his lap and brushing at the top as if there was a blemish upon it.

"I suppose you've got a lot of questions, Kirby…" He trailed off, forcing himself to look at her instead of his hat.

Kirby took another moment to collect herself, staring up at the white tiled ceiling. It was so clean and sterile that it still hurt her eyes as she was accustomed to the darkness that had consumed her over the past few weeks.

"It was Charlie." Kirby spoke in a hoarse rasp, shakily extending her hand to retrieve the cup of water that had been placed on her bedside table. Pressing the cup to her lips, she took two or three gulps, coughing and spluttering as she placed the drink back down and wiped her mouth. Taking a couple of short breaths, Kirby collected herself before continuing. "Charlie was the one who tried to kill me. D-did he hurt anyone else? Jill? Trevor?"

Sidney knew that she was struggling to ask those questions, she could see it in the way Kirby closed her eyes after she had asked, and the way her voice had caught on the odd syllable. She supposed to someone who was none the wiser, it could be blamed on the struggle of speaking after such a long time being silent. Sidney knew though. It was a betrayal that she knew all too well.

The weight of her next few words were going to hit like a bulldozer- and nobody would be able to prepare Kirby for that. The only kindness that Sidney could give her was honesty, brutal and cruel, but something to cling to when everything else felt so completely uncertain.

"There were… there were no other survivors, Kirby." Sidney reached out and grasped Kirby's hand in her own. "Trevor was shot, and as for Jill… she was the other killer."

Sidney could feel the clamminess of Kirby's palm as soon as those words were uttered. She could only stare back as her gaze fixed on Sidney, eyes glazing over with tears at this revelation that had well and truly surprised her.

"Jill? You're lying. She couldn't, she wouldn't…I would have known, I would have been able to work it out." Kirby's brain was spiralling and her stomach churned violently.

"She was my cousin, Kirby. If anyone should have known or guessed…it should have been me." Sidney trailed off. It was typical, denial. She herself could recall laying in bed at night all those years ago after the first set of murders, tossing and turning hopelessly as she struggled to come up with any excuse as to why it couldn't have been Billy. She had damn well heard his confession, the way he gloated about butchering her mother and explained just how he was going to get away with it. However, it hadn't stopped Sidney near enough tearing her hair out trying to justify a crossed wire or miscommunication.

"You're lying! None of this would have happened if you hadn't come back on your stupid _fucking_ book tour. What were you looking for? A sequel?!" The words flowed from Kirby's tongue like poison, but they came flooding through all the same.

"Kirby." Dewey intervened swiftly- struggling with his own moral dilemma. He could understand where Kirby was coming from. Woodsboro had been a peaceful town for years until Sidney had returned- and even in his own darkest and deepest thoughts, he had wondered whether Sidney truly was a catalyst for spilt blood. Those thoughts hadn't lasted too long though. Sidney was one of his closest friends, a fellow survivor. She was someone who had felt the loss of his sister just as much as he had. That was what he regarded her as now, a sister. He hadn't been able to protect Tatum, he had been ignorant and caught off-guard, and he resolved that such a thing like that would never happen where Sidney was concerned. Dewey had learned from his mistakes.

"Don't defend her!" Kirby snapped, startling him from his thoughts. "How many times have you been hurt? What about Olivia and Trevor and Robbie? How many more people have to die?" The words were projecting from her like vomit. Kirby was never one to shy away from speaking her mind, but she was rarely rude and offensive to people's faces. But she couldn't help it, the white-hot rage was pouring from her and she could barely think straight.

"This isn't Sidney's-" He was cut off by Sidney herself.

"It's fine, Dewey." Sidney gently squeezed Kirby's hand and released it, letting out a slow sigh and standing up. She wasn't angry, how could she be? She understood Kirby's reasoning because she had the exact same thoughts a lot of the time too. Her counsellor had told her it was survivor's guilt, the constant niggling in her brain that questioned why. Why did this happen to her? Why did so many people hate her so much? Why did she survive? Why was she still alive? _Why why why why why?_

"It's a lot for you right now, and I understand that." Sidney told her somewhat sympathetically. "But the whole world knows more of your story than you do- and even if we have to talk about it a little bit at a time, I want to be there for you. You might not like it and you might hate me- and once I've told you everything if you still despise me then you won't hear from me again." She promised her, taking a moment before continuing. "But I know how you feel. And it's going to be really hard doing this alone. I had to because I didn't have a choice, but this time you have a choice, Kirby. I'll pop and see you later if that's alright?"

Kirby deliberately didn't make eye contact with Sidney throughout her speech. Instead, she stared fixedly to the wall. It was uncomfortable to say the least, but what made it worse that despite the verbal hammering that Sidney had just received, she had not said a word to defend her case. It made Kirby feel guilty, which consequently made her even angrier at the level-headed brunette.

Sidney was somewhat relieved. She'd been anticipating Kirby's reaction. In the short time that Sidney had been acquainted with her, Kirby seemed to have the fieriness of Tatum, the loyalty of Hallie, and the survival instinct of herself. She liked it and she respected it.

Kirby's silence served to support the idea that she was quite finished with her onslaught, but was still frosty and furious. The small breakthrough that Sidney felt came through the fact Kirby did not answer whether she was welcome later on or not. It was the shock that had been talking, not her.

"Get some rest, there's guards outside looking after you. But it's done now." Sidney told her, taking note of the heaviness in Kirby's eyes. After having no energy and drive for a matter of weeks, the outburst must have really taken it out of her.

"I'm fine." Kirby retorted shortly, fighting to keep her eyes open like a new-born struggling to stay awake.

"I know you are."

"We've been trying to get in contact with your dad, Kirby, but he's not picking up." Dewey stated, scratching the back of his neck as he stood up to allow Kirby to get some rest.

"He's in Beijing on business. He was having issues with his phone… but he should know if I haven't been skyping." Kirby trailed off, equally as confused.

"Well if you give us permission to access your account, we can send him a message to tell him where you are and where to contact you." Dewey offered.

Kirby quickly shook her head, panic momentarily flaring in her eyes.

"No…no. It's okay. He's due back at the end of the month anyway…I mean in the next few days I guess." The time lapse was something that Kirby was still getting used to. "I don't want to panic him. He needs this contract. I'm okay."

"I think he ought to know if you're in hospital, Kirby." Dewey advised. He and Gale had never had children, something else the couple had not agreed on and something in which Gale had managed to get her own way with as per usual.

Shaking her head once more, Kirby closed her eyes, finally allowing exhaustion to prevail over her weary body.

"Honestly, Sheriff… I'm okay. He hates hospitals- and he'd probably not be able to get back until his original flight time anyway. There's no point in… in worry-" She didn't get to finish her sentence, trailing it off as she settled back into a deep sleep.

Dewey and Sidney quietly exited the room, though Sidney was quite sure that she could've pressed an airhorn repeatedly and Kirby still wouldn't have awoken. The walk back to Sidney's room was silent- and it was only when they got to the room did Dewey finally break the silence.

"She didn't mean it, Sid. She's just a kid; she's scared, wiped out and overwhelmed."

Sidney nodded, a small smile gracing her lips at Dewey's feeble attempt to comfort her. Kirby was indeed all of those things, but Sidney wasn't quite so sure that she hadn't meant it.

"It's fine, Dewey. Honestly. I'm pretty wiped myself." She lied smoothly. Even if she had been fatigued, she wouldn't have been able to sleep, there was too much going on in her mind. "Are you going to try and get in contact with Kirby's dad?"

Dewey sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "Kirby is old enough to make those decisions for herself, despite what I might think. She's always been pretty independent since her mom passed though."

"How did she die?" Sidney asked curiously.

"Cancer. Ate away at her until the very end. Kirby really took care of her. Nearly had to get her in a cop car every day for two years to take her to school or else she'd have dropped out."

"You care for her." Sidney observed.

"Yeah… I'm fond of her, I guess. She reminds me of… y'know." He shrugged, somewhat embarrassed as he glanced down at his camel coloured trousers.

Sidney's gaze softened, as did her voice as she rested her hand over his.

"She reminds me of her too."


	4. Chapter 4

Sidney was surprised at how well she had slept the night previous, especially unaided by an extra dose of morphine. She had assumed that she'd be thinking about Kirby or what had happened over those past few days. However, since Kirby was awake and seemingly out of the woods, that invisible weight that had resided on Sidney's shoulders seemed to have alleviated somewhat.

In all honesty, she was in two minds about whether she should go and visit Kirby at all today. The words that had been communicated were not minced and told her that Kirby didn't want anything to do with her right now.

Continuing to ponder as she dressed, Sidney couldn't help but glance at the scar that protruded slightly from her stomach in the mirror. Of course, she hadn't been through what she had over the past eighteen years without becoming unblemished. A dent here, a patch of discolouration there. Yet, Jill had been the one to leave the biggest mark. Like Roman, Jill had been her own flesh and blood. That betrayal cut deeper than any knife possibly could.

She had been able to process Roman's reasonings; a boy in a man's body who desperately sought after a mother's love that he never received. Bitter jealousy at a sibling who seemed to have everything that he didn't. It wasn't acceptable, but she could understand why his life had taken that turn.

Jill? Jill had been another matter entirely that Sidney just couldn't quite wrap her head around. In her mind, Jill had everything. Sure, they shared the same name- and that meant in some ways she had been the shadow of the infamy. But Sidney would have given that all up in a second to lead her life the way her cousin did. _Pretended to do. _A family, two parents (albeit separated) that adored her. A relatively normal life.

A sharp rapping at the door pulled Sidney from her stream of consciousness and she quickly smoothed down her shirt, just in time to see the figure of Adam shuffling into the room sheepishly.

"Miss Prescott? I was just coming off my night shift, Ma'am. Miss Reed expressed that she wanted to speak with you today…and I well…I said that I would pass on the message." He told her in a rushed and embarrassed tone.

Sidney smiled at his inexperience and bashfulness. It reminded her of how Dewey had behaved when he first got his badge; unsure of whether he was saying the right thing, struggling to meet the eye of those he was protecting.

"Thanks, Adam. I appreciate you telling me. You look tired, you should go and rest." She told him. Nodding his head and picking up on the hint to leave her, he mumbled his thanks and started shuffling out the door.

"Oh- and Adam?" The young man paused mid-step and stuck his head back through the threshold of the door. "You're good to call me Sidney. It's not like we're complete strangers, right?"

Adam seemed to turn a familiar shade of red that she had seen sweep through his cheeks the couple of times that they had met, and watched him nod vigorously again before making a swift exit from the room.

_Well… that settles the choice of leaving her be or going in to see her _Sidney thought to herself, pulling her hair up into a ponytail before exiting her room.

Sidney couldn't help but be a little surprised when she opened the door to find Kirby's bed empty. Instead, she saw her fellow survivor in an armchair, staring out of the window. Immediately, Sidney noticed that Kirby had showered as the scent of jasmine lingered over the hospital's cleaning chemicals and the young woman's hair hung in damp strands. Somebody (she presumed to be Dewey, Gale or Hicks) had taken the initiative to bring her some different clothes as underneath her gown was a glimpse of a black strappy top and light grey sweatpants. Although she still looked pale and drawn, she had a little more colour back in her cheeks than yesterday. She also noticed that Kirby had been unhooked from majority of her machines, which had instead been replaced by an IV stand with two pouches dripping through rhythmically. All of these pointed towards the road of recovery and just reaffirmed what Sidney always knew. Kirby was a survivor, just like she was.

"I shouldn't have been so rude to you yesterday, sorry."

Sidney was taken momentarily off-guard by Kirby's apology. For a quick second, she wondered how Kirby had known she was there- but she then realised that she had been spotted through the reflection in the window.

Taking her apology as a sign of peace, Sidney stepped through to her room, slowly making her way over to the arm-chair at the other side of the window.

"It's okay. Believe it or not, I've heard worse." Sidney replied, a small smile on her lips.

"Damn, maybe I really am losing my touch if that's not the worst you've heard," came the reply, causing Sidney's grin to widen a little more as she fixed her eyes from Kirby to the window.

It seemed like the heavens had opened that morning as rain poured. Visually it looked dull and depressing, but the spattering of the rain hitting the glass was almost a lullaby, something that the two women were reluctant to disturb.

After a few moments, Kirby cleared her throat and tore her eyes away from the downpour to focus on Sidney properly.

"Are you angry? Because I am."

Sidney chewed the flesh on the inside of her cheek as she considered Kirby's question.

"I'm a lot of things."

It was the answer that she had given so far to the main question that had left any visitor's lips.

_How are you feeling?_

But Sidney didn't want to fob Kirby off like she had everyone else, she deserved a lot more than that.

"I'm betrayed more than anything I suppose. Jill was my family, distant family…but still family." She began, as to which Kirby quickly interjected.

"What about Roman Bridger?"

Sidney shrugged. "It's different. With Roman I didn't feel betrayed. I didn't even know I had a half-brother. But Jill was known family. I know that I didn't see her much… or any part of Mom's family really…" She allowed her words to trail off as she continued to watch the rain.

"But?"

Sidney let out a deep sigh. "But she was still a big part of my life. Someone who I thought I could trust. Someone I thought I could protect, or who would fight for me if they had to."

"Like Billy Loomis."

Sidney's eyebrow shot up at that answer. It wasn't so much what she said, but Kirby had been able to pinpoint the exact emotional response she had felt. Nobody had been able to do that before.

"You seem to know an awful lot about my life."

Kirby shrugged dismissively, though she did seem to be caught up in her thoughts. However, after a minute or so passed she broke her silence.

"I researched you a lot…y'know when my mom died." The comment was only left for a second before she continued. "I know that they were completely different circumstances and everything, but I didn't know anyone else who had been through a parent dying. Jill had talked about you a couple of times and Kate was like a second mom through all of it and she talked about you so often… how strong and brave you'd been and I just… I guess I looked up to you a bit."

The silence was uncomfortable for the two women then. Kirby seemed as embarrassed about giving the compliment as Sidney was taking it.

"I'm not some crazy stalker… I promise."

The comment made Sidney laugh then and she nodded her head. She never thought she deserved the fame or glory for what had happened to her. It was a traumatic series of events that had just so happened to leave her in one piece. There was no reason for her to have such attention placed upon her just because she was lucky… or unlucky she supposed. Nevertheless, if she could offer comfort and support to those that had suffered from similar tragedies, then that was at least something.

"I feel embarrassed as much as I feel angry." Kirby said in a small voice, lips pursing slightly as she sniffed.

"Why do you feel embarrassed?"

"Because I make out like I know about all this horror movie crap. Reciting trivia like some teenage virgin without realising my best friend was butchering everyone close to us." She scoffed, quickly shaking her head and chewing on her bitten nails.

Sidney found herself nodding as she listened to what Kirby had to say. She wasn't going to insult the girl's intelligence by trying to comfort her because she was right. But Kirby was young and had no idea about how any of this had played out.

"Life isn't a movie, Kirby. It may seem it…and mine has certainly had the tragic horror aspect I suppose… but as soon as you start labelling something, it becomes it." She explained to her, hoping to come across as helpful as opposed to patronising.

Thankfully, she did seem to make sense as Kirby nodded thoughtfully.

"You're right. When Mom passed, everyone at school tiptoed around me. Hell, even Dad tiptoed around me. He still does. They saw me as a victim and I hated it." She confessed.

"I know how that feels, trust me."

"I know you do."

The silence returned to a comforting one now. The rain had lightened up and wasn't thumping so hard against the panels anymore. Just as the tension had been lifted from the sky, it was like it had from the room too.

"Are you gonna leave Woodsboro?" Kirby asked eventually, fiddling with a blanket that was draped around her legs.

"At some point, yes. It's not healthy for me…or anyone else being back here. Angel of death and all that." Sidney raised her eyebrow once more.

"Sorry…"

"I know, I'm just kidding. But you're not the only person in town who thinks I'm the pariah of Woodsboro."

Kirby seemed quiet then, and Sidney detected a hint of sadness coming from her. She didn't know why, but she felt compelled to resolve that.

"But I'll stay for a while longer yet. They still need me for the closing of the investigation…and I at least want to make sure you're okay before I go."

"Why? I'm not your problem…" Kirby asked, it wasn't in her usual sassy tone when she was making a point, but one of genuine confusion.

Sidney hesitated for a moment before replying.

"That's the attitude I took moments before you were nearly killed. Maybe if I'd made you a concern, things wouldn't have gone as far as they did."

For some reason unbeknownst to Sidney, that comment had struck a nerve as she watched the younger girl sniff, her eyes glazing over with tears for a brief period before she sniffed again and rubbed her eyes.

"Maybe they wouldn't have gone as far at all." She agreed, and Sidney appreciated that. Just as she hadn't hedged around matters with Kirby, Kirby had given her the same treatment.

"But we're both here now. And that's what's important, right?"

Sidney turned to look at Kirby once more, slowly nodding her head and giving her a genuine smile.

"Yeah, that's what's important."


	5. Chapter 5

After another four days of the same monotonous routine (with the exception of visiting Kirby's room which had been the highlight of her days) Sidney was finally allowed to be discharged from the hospital.

All she had wanted to do since she had killed her cousin was leave. She'd been foolish, nowhere was safe. The nine years of uneventfulness had softened her, made her weak, vulnerable. She wasn't going to let her guard down again.

Dewey was waiting for her outside the room when she signed her papers and the two made their way towards the exit in silence, Dewey having taken her bag as soon as she'd let him. However, she paused as she heard her name called.

Kirby stood; hand propped against her IV stand.

"Aren't you gonna say bye?" she asked, almost sheepishly.

Sidney's eyes regained that warm and friendly flicker as she asked Dewey to give her five minutes. He obliged and headed out to the car, leaving the two women to say their piece.

Heading over to Kirby, Sidney stopped a few feet away. From the short amount of time she had known Kirby, it was very easy to forget that she was really just a kid. Eighteen, naïve and just had her whole life turned upside down. Yet with those large green eyes that remained unframed without mascara and eyeliner and the cropped blonde hair that was no longer slicked back, but fluffy and dishevelled from just being dried after a shower, she could have passed for sixteen. And despite all the bravado and false confidence façade that she had put forward when they first met… it had been just that. A façade, an act.

"Hey, I said goodbye yesterday. Besides, it's not really goodbye. I'm still going to come and see you every single day. And when you get out…" Sidney trailed off, not really sure how to answer that seeing as she didn't really know what was going on herself. Obviously, she had followed through with the notion that her book tour was completely cancelled.

"You'll go back to wherever you came from and I'll be a reference in your book sequel." Kirby responded, not meeting her eyes and shifting her gaze back down to the floor.

Before she could stop herself, Sidney reached out and tipped her chin upwards, encouraging Kirby to look at her.

"Hey, do I look like Gale to you?" Sidney teased fondly, before continuing. "I don't know where I'm going yet. Or what I'm doing. But I meant what I said, I'm staying at least until you're recovered, and the full investigation is finished." Sidney told her. "And there's funeral services to attend and…" She sighed herself. "There's a lot to do and a lot on unfinished stuff that needs getting in order."

"Are you going to Jill's funeral?" Kirby asked, clearly surprised at this revelation.

Sidney shook her head in response to that. She had said her goodbye in that hospital room and anything else would have been too much.

"No. Jill was already privately cremated. Her dad cleared the house and has left with her ashes." Sidney explained. She hadn't even realised herself until Kate's funeral had been mentioned.

"It's Kate's funeral on Tuesday- and I'll be attending." Sidney told her. "And I'm guessing that you'll want to be there too."

Kirby nodded immediately, she meant what she had told Sidney that day. To her, Kate had been a second mother when her own had passed away- and she at least owed her a goodbye.

"Do you think they'll let me go to it?" she asked.

"Between you and me, they're talking about discharging you on Monday. Just four more days." Sidney revealed

"Really? That's great…but how do you know that?"

"Dewey can't keep much confidential."

Kirby grinned at this and nodded, at least there was an end to this nightmare.

Impulsively, Sidney extended her arms and wrapped Kirby up in them. Although that sterile hospital smell was present, the fresh scent of jasmine lingered. Squeezing her gently, she rested her hands on the younger woman's shoulders.

"Four more days. I will come and visit every day until then. We have quite a bit to sort out too." She told her. "Keep your chin up, Kirby."

Kirby gave her an impish smile and nodded.

"I will. Thanks, Sid."

Throughout majority of the car journey, Sidney was silent. Kirby still relayed within her thoughts, but there was also the impending issue of Kate's funeral. She was grateful that Paul, Kate's ex-husband, had taken the initiative to clear their house and move Jill's remains. Dewey had mentioned he had told Paul that Sidney was still recovering in hospital- yet Paul had expressed in very few words that he didn't want to set eyes on her again.

Pulling up outside her childhood home, Dewey sighed and stared out at the vast landscape.

"I don't like you being here by yourself, Sid." He admitted. The once beautiful area was tainted with fear and sadness- much like the town itself.

Sidney also stared out at the large space. It was just as she remembered it. She hadn't been back since… since her father died.

"I'll be alright, Dewey." She told him, but even she couldn't deny the pit of growing anxiety that was manifesting within her. There was so much pain and suffering in there, but she didn't really have a choice- and besides- she would rather be somewhere she was familiar with.

"You're more than welcome to stay with me and Gale for as long as you like." He offered, and though Gale hadn't been so thoughtful as to invite Sidney herself, Dewey knew that she would want him to express that invite.

"I appreciate it Dewey… but I'm okay where I am." Sidney reassured him. As much as the trio had been through Hell and back together, there was a strange relationship between all three. They knew one another so well, but also knew very little about one another at the same time.

"Well… you know where I am. Call if you need anything at all. I'll be on shift anyway every so often. We've got four officers on shift patterns around the property for the next week." He explained. Sidney realised that her expression of suspicion and wariness had been clear because Dewey quickly continued. "It's nothing to worry about, but with the press still sniffing around and what not we thought it best to keep you as protected as possible."

That made sense to her then and her suspicion was quenched.

"Thanks, Dewey."

"No worries, Sid. Do you want some help with your bag?" he asked politely, already turning his key from the ignition.

"It's fine, thanks Dewey. Honestly though, there'll be nothing around in the house. I can't even offer you a coffee for your trouble." She chuckled.

Dewey shrugged dismissively.

"At least let me help you with your bag. Besides, you'll want the new keys. Burke picked them up yesterday." He stepped out the car and stretched, taking a deep breath and inhaling the fresh forest pine.

Not willing to argue anymore on the matter, Sidney took the keys from him and the two began the walk up the old battered steps towards the front door.

When Sidney unlocked the door, she was surprised to find that all the dust sheets she had placed over her dad's furniture had been removed. And although the place wasn't spotless, all the dust had been cleared and it looked like someone had stocked up place with the basic necessities.

"You did this?" Sidney asked.

"It wasn't actually me. Gale was the one who thought it would be best if we took all the sheets off and everything." Dewey replied, as to which Sidney raised her eyebrow, making him laugh.

"Alright, maybe she overheard Hicks commenting that she was going to do it on her day off. Then took the idea for herself."

Now that made Sidney laugh, it sounded so much more like Gale that way.

"Well…tell her thank you from me."

"You can thank her yourself tomorrow if you want? We were wondering if you wanted to come for dinner. I could pick you up?" Upon seeing Sidney hesitate, Dewey awkwardly lifted his arm and squeezed Sidney's shoulder. "Sid, I know how easy and how great it might seem to go back into that non-existent life. But being alone…trying to do this alone just won't work. You know that, deep down."

Sidney silently cursed how well he read her. In all honesty, all she wanted to do was crawl under the closest rock and bury herself there until she was forced to come out of hiding. However, flickers of Kirby still echoed in her mind. She felt some sort of responsibility for her and she couldn't let her down.

"Sure. Dinner sounds great." She agreed, much to the relief of Dewey.

"Great, I was dreading going home and telling Gale you'd said no. We all know who'd get it in the neck," he half-joked.

After making plans to be picked up at six the next night, Sidney showed Dewey out before closing the door, locking it and sighing. Now Dewey had gone, an eerie silence swept over the whole house. It was as if her presence had settled a heavy blanket of grief and fear over the place. Gulping, Sidney tried to keep a hold of herself, pushing herself to a straighter position from the door.

"Don't be stupid." She muttered to herself, but as she took a step forward and released the brass door handle, she was conscious of how slick her hand was with sweat. As she took another step, her eyes pulled focus to the door on the right.

"_If you hang up on me you'll die, just like your mother! Do you wanna die, Sidney? Your mother sure didn't."_

"_Fuck you, you cretin."_

Jumping back as if the memory itself had hit her full force in the chest, Sidney froze in place, her eyes not straying from that cupboard door. Those few seconds where she had turned her back to place the lock on the door had almost killed her. It had been the first time she had seen that costume, the dark eyes soulless and the mouth fixed into a silent scream. It had haunted her day and night, it still did.

Taking a moment to compose herself, Sidney slowly approached the door with trepidation. She knew that nothing was there, why would anything be there? All the things she was saying to try and keep herself together fell undone with that one memory of being chased up the stairs.

With her hand closed upon the latch of the door now, Sidney counted to two and, not sure she would be able to stomach three, she lurched forward and flung open the door. And she saw what she knew she wold see. Nothing but some old coats and shoes that she had simply closed the door to rather than sorted out when she cleared her father's belongings from the house.

Closing the door again, Sidney rested her forehead against the cool wooden panel, waiting for her heart rate to return to its usual state before she headed through to see the state of the rest of the house.

As promised, Gale hadn't seemingly looked into anything more than a light dust around, and Sidney couldn't help but chuckle to herself as she knew that it would have killed her not to go snooping. It was…harrowing to say the least heading back into her old bedroom. However, it didn't feel right being anywhere else. It didn't look much more different than when she had packed up her things to go to college. The room was still decorated how she'd left it, her bedsheets were folded on the top, another touch she assumed belonged to Gale. She busied herself by putting the sheets on the bed and unpacking her bag. She had almost settled, almost regained that control when it was shattered.

Then it came, the unmistakable crashing of glass that she had heard so many times previously. Sidney was paralysed with fear, that first hot flush of pure terror running through her before adrenalin took hold.

Sidney picked up the first thing she could find to use as a weapon. Being in her bedroom meant she had limited options, but retrieving a pair of nail scissors from her hospital bag, she slowly made her way outside and onto the landing.

She didn't want to alert anyone to her presence, so chose to remain silent instead of calling out. If there was someone in her house, it was an even playing field now.

Reaching to her behind pocket, Sidney felt for her phone, silently cursing when she realised she had left it on the kitchen side whilst talking to Dewey. She was quickly running out of options, so listened instead to try and gage what was going on.

It was deafeningly quiet in the house, and Sidney felt that was almost as terrifying as hearing someone walking around. After a few minutes, she braced herself and made her slow descent down the stairs, purposely avoiding the creaks that she knew were there at certain points of the steps.

Hiding behind the near panel wall, Sidney used the reflection from the mirror in the hallway to check out the kitchen. That was her best bet of finding a better weapon and her phone. After obtaining both, she sent a quick text to Dewey before pulling a large steel knife from the chopping block and going to check the remainder of the bottom floor, trying to decipher where the glass shattering had come from.

And she soon found out.

Once she had cautiously headed into the living room, Sidney had almost immediately noticed the photo-frame lying on the hardwood floor. Although it explained the noise, her eyes automatically glanced around for the reason that it fell. The slightly ajar window on the hatch told her what she needed to know. It was just the wind. There was no way that anyone would have been able to fit through that small space, especially so stealthily and silently.

Sidney nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt the vibration in her back pocket and quickly reached out and pulled the phone to her ear.

"Sid, where are you? I'm five minutes away." Dewey's voice was urgent, and Sidney felt a pang of guilt as she walked forward towards the broken glass, avoiding the shards as she picked up the face-down frame by its stand.

"Sorry Dewey, it was just a photo frame that smashed. You don't need to-" She paused as she flipped the frame around. She had already been anticipating seeing the photo of herself and her mother with their arms wrapped around one another. It was the very same photo she had back home. The silence didn't come from the photo itself. It's what someone had done to it.

The photo itself had four deep crosses scratched roughly into it. Two crosses scratching out her mother's eyes…

and two scratches crossing out Sidney's.


	6. Chapter 6

The five minutes it took Dewey to arrive back at the house were definitely a contender for the longest five minutes known to man. Every creak and groan from the house as it settled back into the routine of having another person within it set Sidney on edge. Even though she had turned the picture frame back down, she could still feel the empty trenchant stare of her mother's scratched out eyes staring at her.

After a thorough search of the house, it was confirmed for definite that there was nobody in there. Nor was there any sign of forced entry or anything suspicious on the premises. During that time, Gale had also driven down to the house after receiving a brief message from her husband.

The trio sat at the table, nursing cups of lukewarm coffee that had once been scalding hot, yet were now cooling and remained undrunk from.

"Sid, there's only two ways that someone could have been in the house. If you'd left the door unlocked a-"

"I think after the events over the past eighteen years I'd have remembered to lock the door." Sidney admonished, cutting Dewey off mid-sentence.

"Or someone magically condensed themselves through the crack of that window." Gale finished, raising her eyebrow at Sidney. She knew what they were both hinting at, the possibility of anyone being in the house was slim to none.

"Alright, so if nobody was in the house what about the picture?" Sidney questioned persistently.

"Well the picture could've blown over from the open window." Dewey explained carefully, causing even Gale to roll her eyes at that obvious statement.

"I know that Dewey- but what happened _to_ the picture? You're not telling me that the shards of glass that came from the picture frame magically scratched both mine and my mom's eyes out, are you?"

There was an awkward silence exchanged between the three as Sidney stood up, walking towards the sink and emptying her coffee down it. It was frustrating. She knew that it wasn't Dewey's fault and didn't mean to snap, but the constant overwhelming fear that took hold of her whenever something sinister happened ricocheted the idea back that this wasn't quite over.

"Is there anyone else with a set of keys?" Gale asked to nobody in particular. Anyone who could give her an answer would do.

"No, Burke only collected two sets yesterday. A set for us and a set for Sid." Dewey told her, his thumb grazing along the right side of his moustache as he considered any other possibilities, his brow furrowed.

"Sid, was there anyone who had a set of keys to your dad's house? Before they were changed." Gale asked.

Sidney turned around to face her, leaning back as she tried to recall who could possibly have access.

"Nobody. Well, nobody alive anyway. Kate had a copy of the keys after my dad passed- just in case there were any issues with the groundskeeper." Sidney told her, not quite making the link.

Gale's face flashed triumphantly as Sidney said this, as if the answer she had given was something she had been banking on the whole time.

"Right, so it wouldn't be a stretch to assume that Jill could have had access to the house at some point?" She glanced at the two of them before continuing. "Sid, you hadn't set foot in this house since Neil died. If Kate had the keys all this time, it's more than likely Jill would've done her research here."

Dewey nodded, then glanced at his wife. "Research?"

Gale paused for a moment before continuing. "Jill's goal wasn't to destroy you. It was to become you. That's what she told you, wasn't it?" Sidney nodded, starting to put the pieces together. "So, in order to become you, she would have to know pretty much every detail about your life. You unknowingly gave it to her on a silver platter. Did she know that you were coming to stay with her?"

"Uh, no. I don't think so." Sidney shook her head. "I was originally supposed to come back here. But it was too far out, and Kate's was right in the centre…she insisted, and I gave in a couple of days before."

It was then Dewey clicked as well.

"So… if Jill thought that you were coming here until the very last minute- she could've done that to unsettle you." Dewey finished, causing Gale to nod.

"It might have been a build up to something bigger. It could have been something to just set you on edge…"

"Well she wasn't wrong, was she?" Sidney had to acknowledge that what they were saying made sense; it was entirely plausible that this had been an early set-up from Jill that been done with intent to frighten her. It almost filled her with a sense of relief. Almost.

"But Gale… you took the dust covers off everything and you cleaned up, surely you would've noticed a smashed photo." Dewey butted in.

"Not necessarily." Sidney slowly trailed off, taking a seat again at the table as she considered everything. "Jill could've left the frame intact. The only reason I noticed the picture had been disfigured like that was because the frame had smashed- which still could've been down to the breeze coming in from the window. Unless you really looked at the picture it's likely you'd have missed it."

"To be honest, Dewey, this house gives me the creeps out here. I didn't pay attention to much. I just wanted to leave as quickly as I could- no offence, Sid."

Dewey was still mulling over everything, and even as he nodded, Sidney could still see the tension present on his face.

"Okay, it isn't a stretch to imagine that Jill could've been behind this. And with nobody in the house, that just points towards the same outcome." He drummed his fingers on the table. "But even so, I'm not comfortable with you being all the way out here by yourself." 

"Look, Dewey…I'm absolutely fine. I must admit that the picture thing unnerved me. But this is my home, I know it better than anyone else." Sidney excused. "Besides, I'm not going to be on my own. You've still got police monitoring the place for the next few days, right?" she asked him.

Dewey sighed and nodded. "I'd much prefer it if you came to stay with Gale and I-"

Sidney took a glance at Gale and watched her face tighten slightly. Even after everything that they had been through together, the two women had completely different personalities and they would never be the best of friends. There was a level of respect there that Sidney would always have for her. Even towards the beginning where the two had been at their worst after Gale had slandered her name over the case with Cotton. Now she'd had time to reflect, Sidney did have some sort of admiration that she had stuck to her instincts. The problem was that Gale was ruthless and cut-throat, and even when her heart was in the right place, the way she went around it was somehow always wrong. She wasn't sure if she could live with Gale, even if it were only to be a temporary measure. And she was pretty sure that Gale felt the exact same way.

"Honestly, Dewey…I'm fine. I appreciate the offer, but I just need a little bit of time." She explained. "I feel a lot better now."

After that appreciative, yet firm, declination there was nothing much more to say. There was a throwaway comment about dinner the next night and what she would like, but Sidney knew that it was all filler just to get to the door.

That night when she was ready for sleep, Sidney had stood herself up from the couch and walked towards the hallway, pausing as she glanced at the photo frame, still face down on the wooden table. Chewing her bottom lip, she took a shaky breath and walked over to it. Without turning it back over, she opened the nearest set of drawers, avoiding eye contact with the offending item and placed the frame in there before closing the drawer and switching off the light.

"I thought you were supposed to look better once you'd left hospital. You look like you should be switching places with me." Kirby commented, her focus on the small plastic tub of chocolate mousse in her hand.

Sidney watched as Kirby carefully scraped layer after layer of the mousse onto her spoon. Circling the outer edge before scraping and skimming the very thinnest amount she could in a rhythmic pattern. It reminded her of her first date with Billy all those years ago.

_Sitting in the booth of the diner, Sidney watched as Billy's eyes circled at the same pace of his spoon, shedding yet another layer of strawberry ice-cream from his side of the glass dish. The way he did it was almost hypnotising, and even though Sidney was a slow eater by nature, she settled that he was something else._

"_My mom would throw a fit if she caught me doing that." Sidney pointed out playfully, causing Billy to jump and ruin his perfectly layered spoon of ice-cream. It wasn't like it would have lasted, the metal of the spoon was warmed by his grip and was causing the ice-cream to go from its solid state to a multi-coloured, liquidy mass. _

_For a moment, she saw Billy's eyes darken and a slight crease appear between his brows, and she was concerned that she had upset him by disturbing him. However, as soon as his darkened expression had appeared it had quickly vanished, replaced by a boyish smile and a slouch as he dipped his spoon in with a much more relaxed nature. _

"_Good job she's not here then because she'd really flip if she knew I was about to do this..." _

_And before she could even react, he had reached forward with the spoon in his hand and gently tapped her nose, leaving the ice-cream residue on it._

_She laughed and quickly lifted her arm, using the sleeve of her denim jacket to wipe her nose that had wrinkled in the process of his act. _

"_I'll get you back for that." She warned him, raising her brow in a challenging manner._

"_See, my dad taught me that if you want something enough…" He leant in a little closer, using his hand to now brush a strand of her chestnut brown hair into place. "When you get it, you need to take as much pleasure in it as you possibly can."_

"Sidney? Are you okay?"

Sidney jumped as she was pulled back into the present. Kirby had finished her pudding and was now focused on her.

Clearing her throat, Sidney forced a smile and nodded her head. "Yeah, I'm fine. It was just being back at the house for the first time since…" She trailed off.

Kirby pulled a face and offered a weak smile herself.

"Sorry, my bad. I didn't really put it together that you'd be going back to your house." She told her. Her hands had been previously occupied by the eating of her mousse, but now they were free, they were bunching up the cotton sheets on the bed.

"It's okay. You've had a lot to think about yourself."

Kirby nodded and glanced at her phone on the side, picking it up and swiping upwards. A sigh left her lips and she placed it back down again.

"Has Dewey heard from my dad at all?"

"He hasn't mentioned anything, why?"

"Well… he texted me yesterday morning and told me that his business meetings were going to be extended for another two weeks. I tried to ask him why it was extended for so long and he hasn't even read it."

Sidney could see that the young woman was worried.

"When is he supposed to be back?"

"Tomorrow."

The two were silent for a few moments as Sidney considered the possibilities.

"I know you're worried about how he's going to react with all this, Kirby, and I know you wanted to tell him in person…but keeping it away from him for another two weeks will be near impossible; it's all over the news."

"I know." Kirby agreed, leaning back into her pillow. "I tried to call him last night, but it went straight through to answer phone."

"Well if I were you, I'd just keep trying to reach him. One way or another, he's going to hear about the news. I'm sure you'll get a phone call by the end of today." She reached out and squeezed her hand sympathetically.

Kirby sniffed, glancing from Sidney to the bedsheets. "Yeah, I guess you're right."


	7. Chapter 7

The lack of comfort that Sidney had felt in her house over the past two nights was not letting up easily. This wasn't what it should have been like. Any positive memories were completely tainted by horror. Her mother's room looking like a bloodbath after she was murdered had been one of them, Billy's presence being another. The house was empty, but filled with ghosts of her past. No matter how hard she tried to get rid of them she couldn't.

"Did you sleep last night?" Kirby asked her. One thing that was looking up was her health. She had been officially told that she was going to be discharged from hospital the next morning, so it was great news for her.

"Aren't I supposed to be the one asking about your health?" Sidney retorted with a raise of an eyebrow.

"Why are you deflecting my questions?"

Sidney didn't know why Kirby's persistence still didn't cease to surprise her, but her ability to see through bullshit was one of the things Sidney really appreciated about her. A soft chuckle escaped her before she settled back.

"Is it the house?"

Sidney thought a moment. "The easy answer would be to say yes, it's the house. But to be honest, I think it's more me being there than the house itself."

"I don't understand…"

Sidney considered condensing the truth. However, she figured maybe speaking about it would alleviate some of the pressure she'd been feeling herself.

"It's like I'm living in a time-warp. If I go to my room, I see Billy crawling in through my window. If I go downstairs, I suddenly feel like I'm being chased through the house by that mask." She shook her head, pushing a hand through her hair. "Not to mention my mom's room."

"Did you…did you really find her?"

Sidney slowly nodded, her stomach churning as she recalled that painful night.

"_Catch ya tomorrow, Sid." Tatum called through the window of her car, waving her hand vigorously before revving up her car and flying down the path. In all honesty, Sidney was just grateful that her feet had once again been able to touch the pavement. With her driver's permit still fresh in her purse, Tatum was a whole lot of reckless and Sidney found that she'd had to pry her hand away from the gripping the side of the door as she sped through Woodsboro. _

_Sidney waved at her friend before walking towards the white gate. As she approached, she heard the latch of the gate close and a tall figure in a black leather jacket rush towards the car that was parked at the opposite side of the road. She figured it was a little odd seeing as it was almost ten at night and the road was usually pretty deserted by now. They lived quite far out in the woodland area, so unless the person was visiting them specifically, it was definitely a peculiar thing. _

_She found herself lingering until the car had sped off, not wanting to attract any unwanted attention. It was only when the backlights disappeared did she open the gate and begin the trek up the path. _

_Sidney didn't know why, but she felt a pit of anxiety in the bottom of her stomach. It only grew when she caught view of the house and saw two sets of lights on. Although the rest of the house was dark, the kitchen lights were on and so were the lights in her mother's bedroom. She knew that her mother was a stickler for lights, she always had been._

'_The only time a light should be on in the house is if it's dark and you're in that room, Sid. Turn the lights off after you!'_

_Sidney could practically repeat the phrase that her mother had used with her so often by heart, as unfortunately for her mom, Sidney had developed the habit of turning the light on in every room that she set foot in and often forgot to switch it off after her. In all honesty, she did it sometimes to simply annoy her. _

_That was why when she saw two sets of lights on, it made her walk up the stairs quickly turn into a jog. Reaching in her pocket for her keys, she turned them in the door and frowned. It was already unlocked. _

_Her mom always locked the doors. She was meticulous about it, even more so when her dad was away on business. But maybe he'd come back early. _

"_Mom?" Sidney called as she closed the door behind her, locking it and slowly dropping her backpack to the floor. _

_Silence._

"_Mom…are you here?" She called out again, going to the kitchen first. Panic seized her as she turned the corner, seeing the fragments of glass on the floor from the window panels of the back door that looked like it had been forced in. _

_Any sense of calm and control that Sidney had previously was completely destroyed. Running out of the kitchen, Sidney gripped the bannister of the stairs, intending to head up there. However, her grip slipped from the wooden rail- and when Sidney turned her outstretched palm up, her hand was smeared with red. _

_A half gasp, half sob escaped her throat. Time seemed to slow down as she glacially climbed up each step, the weight of her legs feeling like lead every time she lifted them._

"_Mom?" she meant to sound brave, but her voice cracked into a whimper. The end of the hallway where her parents' room was located seemed miles away, but before long she was standing outside the door, a bloody handprint smeared against the white paint. _

_Slowly gripping the door, Sidney turned the handle and pushed it open, staying fixed to the spot because she didn't dare go in._

_The first thing she saw was the awful floral wallpaper that her mom had spent so much time selecting. She'd always teased her about it and her mom had teased her right back, saying if she wasn't careful then she would come back from school to find her own room covered in the stuff. _

_There were dark red spatters across it now._

_When she looked down, the floor was smeared with the same substance. She didn't even realise she was crying until she choked on her own tears. _

"_Mom…" she called out, but even now Sidney knew she wasn't going to get an answer. She stood there for what felt like hours, although it might have only been a minute at the very most. It was like she was rooted to the spot. Sidney knew she had to step into that room, but with her mother and father's bed in the corner, she felt physically sick about what she might find. _

_Wiping her nose with her sleeve and taking a shaky breath, Sidney forced herself in and turned towards the left._

_There was a scream._

_It was hers._

_The bed had puddles of blood soaked into the white sheets, outlining a figure that could not be seen but was so obviously her mother's form. Everywhere she looked there was blood and broken furniture, there was even a clump of her mom's dark hair hanging from the mattress. The clothes that she had been wearing before Sidney left were strewn all over the floor._

_She didn't even make it out of the room before she heaved and retched, throwing up violently on the bedroom floor._

"Yes, I found her." Sidney said quietly. She had shed many tears over that memory, and she had no doubt that she would at some point shed more, but not right then.

"I found my mom too." Kirby said equally as quietly. When Sidney glanced up to meet her eyes, Kirby quickly added. "I know it's not the same at all… my mom was sick for a long time and we knew that she was going to die for at least six months. But it changes you. Seeing your parent like that changes you."

Nodding in agreement, Sidney slowly exhaled. "Dewey told me that you cared for her. That must have been really difficult seeing her so sick and all."

Kirby shrugged. "It was. But… I can remember how she was before she was sick and I just try and cling to that, y'know? The cancer turned her into a shell of the person I knew." She explained.

The silence between them both after that was a thoughtful one, another acknowledgement of just how similar they were. Their hardships were differently laid out, the trauma a different concept but still with the same outcome.

"I think you're really brave." Kirby broke the silence, picking at a loose thread on her hoodie. "I don't know how you went back into the house after all that happened." She shook her head and sighed. "I'm being discharged tomorrow and I'm meant to be happy. This is all over and I'm supposed to be able to get on with my life. But how can I do that when I'm too scared to set foot in my house? All that blood…Robbie's corpse…I-I can't go back there alone." Tears built in her eyes and she sniffed, only just managing to keep them at bay.

"The forensics cleaning team will have gone over the place fully…you don't have to worry about any blood." Sidney tried to comfort her. It clearly didn't go down well as Kirby's shoulders stiffened and she looked at her with that fierce steely gaze.

"Did they clean your mom's room?"

Sidney nodded.

"Then why are you still not sleeping?"

"Fair point…"

"Sorry." Kirby apologised, her shoulders sagging slightly.

"No, I'm sorry. It was a stupid thing to say. The truth is Kirby…that I found an old photo of me and my mom a couple of days ago. It had gotten smashed and when I picked it up, both of our eyes were scratched out in the photo. It brought everything flooding back a little."

Kirby looked bewildered sitting up straight. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want to panic you. I didn't want to set your recovery back or make you upset."

Kirby sighed. "Did you find out who did it?"

"We don't know for certain, but I'm pretty sure Jill did it before I agreed to stay with them instead of back at home."

She nodded again. "That makes sense, I guess. That's where Jill and Trevor went to… y'know."

Sidney grimaced and shook her head. "I could have gone the rest of my whole life without knowing that information. Where did they- no, actually… in fact I don't want to know."

Her comment made Kirby giggle, and despite the sinister tone of the conversation, it visibly lightened them both up.

"Haven't you heard anything from your dad yet?" she asked softly, reflecting on what Kirby had said about her being in the house on her own.

Kirby shook her head. "Nope, nothing. I tried calling five times last night, but it just rings to voicemail."

Sidney chewed her lip as she considered the options. Technically, she didn't hold any responsibility for Kirby. But without her parents there and after such a tragic event… how could she leave her to try and cope on her own?

"Listen, Kirby. I know that we don't know each other very well…and this might seem a bit out of the blue…but if you really don't think you can stay in your house on your own, you're more than welcome to stay with me until your dad gets back." Sidney offered. "I know it's not exactly been uneventful in itself…but you don't have any memories of it, and it might be easier. Both of us not on our own." She explained.

Kirby chewed her bottom lip, clearly considering her invitation. She had two options, be by herself in her recently recovered crime-scene house… or go to Sidney's house and at least have another presence around.

"I uh…I'd like that." She spoke shyly then. "Thanks, Sidney."

The two made a plan that Sidney would collect her the following morning. They would go to Kirby's house and pick up some of her things and then return back to her own house.

On the way out of the hospital, Sidney tried to convince herself that she was doing the right thing by Kirby. After all, she had only been a year older than Sidney had been after what had happened in Woodsboro all those years ago. She'd still had her dad around to help her and keep her sane alongside Randy. Who did Kirby have right now? Nobody. However, deep down, Sidney was just as relieved that Kirby was coming to stay because maybe…just maybe it would keep the ghosts at bay until she could leave Woodsboro permanently.


	8. Chapter 8

As they pulled up to Kirby's house the very next day, Sidney sighed and leant back in her seat. She hadn't realised it before, but her grip on the steering wheel must have been vice-like, as when she finally pried her fingers from the leather, they ached and throbbed profusely.

She took the opportunity of not being focused on the road to take a look at Kirby.

"Are you okay?"

Kirby looked as if she was deep in thought, but whatever she was thinking of was clearly unpleasant to remember. However, Sidney's question pulled her back to present as she glanced over at her and nodded.

"Yeah, it's just weird being back here…after everything." Kirby trailed off; her gaze once again pulled back to the house. To Sidney, that was a perfectly rational thing, especially seeing as the last time Kirby had been in there she had been left for dead.

"Do you remember it?" Sidney asked, surprised by her own question. She knew better than most to ask questions like that because she had those questions pointed at her every single day. Camera flashes beaming and microphones thrust so quickly into her face that they rendered her dizzy…and almost helpless sometimes. This was different though, this wasn't some interview that would be twisted way out of proportion with some seedy journalist looking to make a cheap buck. This was her wanting to know what Kirby was thinking and feeling.

Kirby was silent for another moment or two and Sidney had almost presumed that she was ignoring the question and she didn't want to answer it.

"Some of it. I remember some of it." Kirby had revealed very little about what had happened once Sidney had searched for Jill, and it was very clear to Sidney that it was incredibly difficult to divulge even the smallest comment.

"Hey…it's okay. I shouldn't have asked. I'm sorry." Sidney comforted her, reaching over and squeezing her hand. "We don't have to talk about it and we can stay in here as long as you want to," she added.

Kirby nodded, pulling herself together and taking a steady breath. "Let's go."

As promised, the house had been cleaned to within an inch of its life. Sidney didn't really see any difference in the place from when she had entered the house that final night, yet she knew Kirby would probably see a lot of things missing; a lot of slight differences that she would have once taken for granted.

"Do you want me to help you pack?" Sidney offered, watching Kirby as she walked around the front room like a phantom. She continued to observe as Kirby's gaze went to the white fluffy rug. It was in pristine condition and Sidney couldn't quite see anything wrong with it.

"There was a coffee table here. A glass one." She spoke absently, her brow furrowing as she recalled the layout of her home in her mind. Sidney knew it wasn't a great thing to do given the circumstances. To take a mental inventory would only lead to questions of what happened in order for that particular item or furniture to be destroyed so badly beyond repair.

"Let's go get your stuff, Kirby." Sidney directed. It was a cold command, nor was it something that Kirby would have to obey if she didn't want to. Yet the girl seemed eager to get out of there, nodding her head and leading Sidney up the steps.

As they climbed each step, Sidney found herself recalling nondescript moments from that night. After being mercilessly chased up the stairs by who she now knew was Charlie, she and Jill had fled to Kirby's room. That was confirmed when Kirby opened the door and it hit Sidney like a bullet at blank range.

_Can you jump?" Jill asked, a terrified expression on her face as she flung open the balcony door. Immediately, Sidney had checked to see if it was doable, but even if they did make it without managing to knock themselves unconscious, there would probably be a broken ankle at the very least that would considerably lower their chances of survival. _

"_No, it's two stories." Sidney exclaimed, each moment they were trapped in there brought a new level of fear to the surface. "Where's your cell?" She asked her, thinking on her feet as Jill fumbled confusedly to find her phone and hand it over. _

"_What're you-"_

"_Under the bed."_

Without really thinking about it, a quiet scoff left Sidney's mouth as she shook her head. _How could she have been so stupid?_

"What is it?" Kirby asked. Whilst Sidney had been walking around the room, she had opened her closet and proceeded to start packing clothes, making sure a sensible funeral outfit was also planned for Kate's service the very next day.

"I tried to trick them into believing that Jill had managed to escape and go and find help. I was out there on that balcony looking like an absolute idiot. Jill probably told him exactly what I was doing and I didn't have a clue." Sidney silently admonished herself. There were so many points where she could have worked this out. "I had her phone in my hand. A quick tap on caller history and I would've known." She told her, though it was half-hearted because aside from being psychic, there was no way Sidney would have had the time or notion to even consider looking through Jill's phone.

"Ah yes, I'm sure Charlie would've paused for you whilst you hacked into Jill's phone and checked her messages." Kirby replied sarcastically, folding a pair of jeans up and shoving them into a holdall.

"Fair point." Sidney actually smiled then. Walking over to a set of shelves, she found herself searching for things that would tell her something about Kirby. Sure enough, the extension of DVD's stacked up along the largest shelf told her a lot.

"You like horror movies?" Kirby asked her, glancing up she had seen Sidney's focus upon her DVD stack.

The question made Sidney chuckle. She didn't know whether Kirby had purposely avoided the world-famous line 'Do you like scary movies?' but she did appreciate it.

"When your whole life outdoes the horror genre, Kirby, there's nothing new to really sink your teeth into." Sidney commented, taking a look at the shelf underneath. There were a few little trinkets, a pair of stud earrings with the back of one missing, and a cute hanging ornament that had small clothes pegs holding photographs up. One of Kirby and Jill, then one of Kirby, Jill and Olivia. Finally, Sidney's eyes came to rest on a photo that stood alone in a frame. Kirby was in the centre of the photo, her blonde hair longer and wavier and a big smile on her face. At either side of her stood a man and a woman, beaming from ear to ear.

"Who are you with here?" Originally, Sidney had been asking questions to try and take Kirby's focus away from the fact that her friends had been brutally murdered in this very house only a few weeks previous. Now, however, she was the one who had her interests piqued.

Kirby walked over to see what she was looking at because Sidney's figure had blocked her view from afar, and a ghost of a smile rose on her lips as she looked at the photo too. "This was when we went to Chiang Mai in Thailand around four years ago now." She told Sidney. "That's me, my mom and my dad."

"Oh?" Sidney asked, unable to keep the surprise from her tone. Without seeing the photo, there would have been nothing out of the ordinary for Kirby's parents to take her on holiday to an exotic place. They clearly did well for themselves judging from the neighbourhood and the house itself…but the people at either side of her were clearly of an Asian heritage. There was no trace of that in Kirby whatsoever as far as the eye could see.

Kirby couldn't help but laugh a little at Sidney's obvious surprise, no matter how hard she tried to hide it.

"They're obviously not my biological parents… but they adopted me from birth so they're the only parents I've ever known." Kirby confirmed Sidney's suspicions.

"Sorry…" Sidney trailed off sheepishly. "I didn't mean to sound so shocked. It was just you never mentioned you were adopted, not that it's any of my business." She added quickly.

"It's cool, honestly. I forgot to wear my 'I'm adopted' t-shirt when I was rushed into hospital at death's door." Kirby was teasing her now, even Sidney could tell that from a mile away.

"Yeah yeah, okay. I get your point." Sidney chuckled, putting the photo back down where it belonged. "You done?"

"Uh huh, I think so. I'm just going to pop down to the laundry room to grab my black dress for tomorrow."

Sidney nodded and perched on the bed, still thinking about the latest news on Kirby as she heard the rummaging that she presumed came from Kirby searching through clothes. She really was full of surprises. She felt the utmost respect for Kirby's parents at that point. To adopt someone else's child and raise them as your own was an incredible feat that Sidney couldn't even think about without feeling nauseous. At some point, during the first few months about her and Billy's relationship, Sidney had considered having a family one day with him. Silly, really. What a few months would do.

Tapping her foot on the floor, Sidney listened for the distant thump of clothes hitting the floor, but it hadn't crossed her ears for quite some time.

"Kirby?" Sidney called, standing herself up and heading out into the hallway.

Silence.

"Kirby?" She called again, beginning her descent downstairs. Sidney followed the trail of quiet sounds that she heard. The rustle of clothing, a sniff… and as she got closer, she could hear Kirby's shallow breathing.

It became all too apparent why.

As soon as Sidney saw Kirby standing in front of the panelled windows, she realised that it was where they had first seen Charlie tied up on the back porch. It was the last time Sidney had seen Kirby at all.

"I got the question wrong. About the slasher craze. I said it was Psycho, but it was wrong."

It still didn't make a whole lot of sense to Sidney, but what she said next did.

"You asked me to keep him talking so you could get Jill. You told me you'd be right back. You didn't come back." Her sentences were short, restricted and restrained, like there were tears threatening to bubble over, yet she wasn't stopping them.

Sidney couldn't defend herself because…how could she? How could she possibly try and defend her actions of going to go find the other killer, leaving Kirby at the hands of Charlie in the process. It wasn't even like she could say she didn't know the killer was going to go for her because they had been on the phone when Sidney was standing right beside her.

"You said you'd be right back." Kirby repeated blankly, allowing a couple of tears to come through the floodgates as she stared outside at the back porch, hands clenched by her sides as the sinking feeling of hurt and betrayal warmed her bones.

Taking another couple of steps forward until she was in reach, Sidney didn't hesitate on resting her hands on Kirby's shoulders, forcing her to turn around and face her so that her eyes were no longer on that back porch. Once she had the blonde turned around, Sidney wrapped her in a tight embrace and just held her. Although Kirby's body was stiff and rigid for the first few moments, she eventually grew slack and broke down, burying her face into Sidney's shoulder as unsuppressed sobs were finally allowed to reach their peak. Sidney held the trembling girl for what felt like both a few seconds and an eternity at the same time, refusing to let go as Kirby wept.

"Kirby, I am so sorry that I left you. I swear to God, if I could do that night over one more time, I would have never left you alone." She whispered, closing her eyes and trying to keep strong for the both of them.

After a few more tearful moments, Kirby slowly pulled back and wiped her eyes, tucking her hair behind her ear as a slightly embarrassed and watery smile appeared on her lips.

"Sorry. I don't really know where that came from."

"It's okay. I don't want you to be sorry. I'm here if you ever need to talk."

In a weak show of triumph, Kirby held up the black dress in her hand. "I found the dress. I think I'm good to go." She told her.

With a few outfits, her hair straighteners, laptop, makeup bag and toiletries, Kirby and Sidney both headed out back to the car. It had been an emotionally exhausting few hours, but somehow Sidney felt that any leftover tension and bitterness that Kirby might have been holding back from her had now surfaced, and was hopefully clear.


	9. Chapter 9

"It feels sort of weird…wearing proper clothes again." Kirby trailed off. She and Sidney were both sitting at the table and the silence was just a little too much for her at that point. Neither of them had slept well because of Kate's impending funeral; now it was only a few hours away and the sense of uneasiness lingered around the kitchen.

As if making her point, Kirby pulled and tugged slightly at the hem of the dress. The sweatpants and loose fitted shirts were shapeless but comfortable. Now, it felt like the scratchiness of the new material restricted her breathing and brushed the wrong way against her scar.

"You'll get used to it soon enough. You look much more like Kirby now," Sidney replied. Although she wouldn't admit it to anyone, she was grateful for the distraction of conversation.

The silence that took hold after the comment was only momentary because when Sidney glanced at the clock, she pushed her chair back and straightened up. "Come on. We should get going."

Kirby copied Sidney's actions, putting her phone on silent before picking up her bag. The two women left the house and got into the car. Sidney had made the decision to avoid a funeral car for family members. After all, there would only be her left. Besides, anything that alerted the press to the funeral that was taking place would be a bad idea- and Sidney knew that Kate wouldn't have wanted a big deal made of it. She'd expressed her distaste about that at her mom's funeral.

_Sidney sat in between her Aunt Kate and father. There was a crumpled torn up tissue between her hands and she had been wringing it so much that it had dampened with the clamminess of her palms. The car had been stopped for five minutes, but they had not gotten out of the car. Even with the blacked-out windows, she could still see the flashes of cameras and various reporters shouting questions._

"_Neil! Can we get a statement?"_

"_Kate, how are you coping?"_

"_Sidney…what was it like to walk in and find your mother murdered so brutally?!"_

_Sidney glared down at the crumpled up tissue, fidgeting with it all the more as the onslaught of questions continued to filter through the car. _

"_It's like a damned circus around here. Haven't they had enough pictures? Can they not let my sister have one day of peace? Where are the police?!" Kate demanded, anger, hurt and grief reflected in her eyes and tone. _

"_Once today is over with…it'll calm down." Neil replied, though even to a sixteen-year-old child, it didn't sound convincing at all._

"_Is that all you've got to say, Neil? Jesus Christ. She was your wife! Have you shed a tear for her? Do you even care that these vultures are swarming on the day of-" _

"_Please…stop." The voice was quiet, subdued even. But it was Sidney's voice- and despite her being stuck between the two of them it was like they finally noticed her when she spoke. _

_Sidney had been squeezing the tissue so fiercely that her knuckles were white. Instinctively, Neil took one of her hands in his and Kate took the other._

"_It'll be alright, Sid." Neil said quietly._

"_We'll deal with this together as a family."_

"Sid… the car's here…" Kirby said quietly. She had seen her so deep in thought that she hadn't wanted to disturb her, but as the undertakers were bringing the coffin out of the back, she didn't want to miss Kate's service.

There were a few other people there. Close friends of Kate who had been keen to know when the service was as they wished to attend. Sidney recognised Dewey and Gale but that was about it. It was clear that the rest of the crowd knew who she was though.

"It's like they think you have the plague or something." Kirby muttered as they walked towards the church- and it was true. When they stepped in near distance of the crowd, they parted at either side.

"My reputation of a pariah." Sidney muttered in return. She had assumed that she was the one protective of Kirby, but she was surprised to find that Kirby stuck to her like glue. Even when the rest of the mourners backed away as if her mere presence would insight death, Kirby remained fixed by her side.

Dewey and Gale both came over, offering a warm hug towards both of them before stepping back.

"You're both looking really well." Gale offered, absentmindedly tucking her hair behind her ear. "Given the circumstances."

"Thanks Gale," Sidney replied,

"We have police surrounding the area, Sid. You won't be disturbed today." Dewey reassured swiftly, a soft sigh leaving his lips as silence swept over the group when Kate's coffin emerged fully from the hearse. It entered the intimidating doors with Sidney following first behind.

It had been a beautiful service despite the heavy circumstances surrounding Kate's death and Sidney had been left to her own devices when the ceremony had ended.

Nobody had spoken of Jill even remotely- it was like she hadn't been there at all. Sidney didn't know if that would have only hurt Kate all the more though. A parent's love for their child was supposed to be unconditional and although estranged, even Sidney knew that Kate had dedicated her life to raising Jill, protecting her from the dark past that surrounded their family.

Although standing by Kate's headstone, Sidney couldn't help but allow her gaze to fall upon the headstone only a few feet away.

**MAUREEN PRESCOTT**

**1950-1995**

**BELOVED WIFE, MOTHER AND SISTER. GONE BUT NEVER FORGOTTEN.**

Sidney stared at the engraving on the stone. Her mother would never be forgotten, she was part of the town's history now. Her murder had single-handedly changed Woodsboro forever. It had changed Sidney forever.

But had she really ever known her mother? It was like she'd been leading some secret double life. It seemed that whenever trouble started…she uncovered something completely new about the woman she should have known everything about.

"It seems like yesterday we were standing here for her." Dewey's voice interrupted her thoughts. Sidney sighed and rubbed her forehead; she had been to this cemetery one too many times.

"In some ways it does. In some ways I feel it's been longer than fourteen years." She eventually replied. Squatting down, she brushed some of the overgrown ivy and dust that had collected away. "You know, Dewey…in the first year of her death I used to come here every week with a new bunch of flowers. Sometimes I'd come more than once, just to talk to her."

Dewey said nothing for the moment. He recognised that she didn't need him to respond right now. She just needed to vent.

"I felt like I was talking to my mom at that point. But I was just talking to a complete stranger."

"Sid… you might not have known her past, but you knew her as your mom. You knew her in the sixteen years you had with her."

"Did I? Did I really know who she was? I mean she was having an affair with my boyfriend's dad for Christ sakes. Sleeping with Cotton Weary too. I didn't know my mom at all." Sidney replied bitterly.

"Your mom had a tough life, Sid."

"And me and my dad have too. You make the choice…you make the choice to…"

"Be murdered?"

Sidney threw him a glance and sighed, taking it as an insight to cool off.

"Of course not. I just… I wish she were here. I have so many unanswered questions and so much has happened and-" She had to pause, her voice was thick with emotion and tears and she blinked quickly, rapidly wiping her eyes.

"I know."

Once Sidney had gotten herself in check, she stood back up and stepped back.

"It must be difficult for you too. With Tatum here and your mom." Sidney expressed, turning her head to gage Dewey's reaction. He had never really spoken about Tatum's death- but it had really hit him hard. Enough to pull him out of the police force for a good few years.

"We all have our ghosts Sid. We all have the what ifs. It doesn't do good to dwell on them." He rubbed his moustache and sighed himself. "If I'd never driven you both to that party then Tatum would still be here. Maybe Mom would be too."

"Ah, because Tatum had the utmost respect for your authority."

That made a small smile break out from Dewey's sombre expression.

"If you hadn't driven us then Tatum would have found someone to pick us up. We were supposed to be at that house that night. It's what they'd planned."

"I know. But sometimes it's easier blaming the living than blaming the dead."

"And it's easier saying what if…and if only." Sidney finished.

A lack of sleep over the past few nights accompanied by the emotional exhaustion of the day meant that Sidney was completely wiped out. It was like she hadn't realised how drained she was until she had nothing left whatsoever.

"Do you want some food?" Kirby asked. After shedding the dress and hitting the shower, she felt a lot more comfortable in her lumber shirt and flannel shorts. It was good to just try and wash the day away.

"Sure." Sidney said softly, watching as Kirby stood up and opened the cupboards one by one, searching for some sort of inspiration. But all that was in was dried pasta, some cheese, bread and a pint of milk.

"Uh…I could run to the store?" Kirby offered helpfully, glancing at the bare ingredients.

"That empty huh?" Sidney asked, standing up and opening the left drawer where her dad used to keep the takeaway menus and pointless letters. He never threw anything away.

"How does Chinese food sound?"

"Like a great shout." Kirby answered, relieved because the thought of cooking something was too draining for her to even consider.

"Great." She tossed a menu to Kirby. "I'll have a chicken chow mein, get whatever you want. It's on me." Running a hand through her hair, she stretched and yawned. "I'm just going to head for a shower. If it comes before I'm out my purse is in my bag."

"Okay, sure. Thanks." Kirby called, picking up the menu and searching through as Sidney headed upstairs.

After selecting what she wanted and placing her order, Kirby grabbed a glass of water and headed over to the couch in the living room. Picking up the remote control on her way she went to flop down, hissing in pain as a sharpness protruded through the sole of her left foot.

"Fuck!" She cursed and lifted it instinctively, perching on the couch to inspect the damage. Upon looking, she saw a small shard of glass sticking out from her skin. Sidney had told her what had happened with the picture and she assumed it had just been a remnant from what had managed to escape from the wrath of the vacuum cleaner.

Her mobile rang from the kitchen and she groaned inwardly, half-hopping and half-shuffling towards the sound whilst trying not to bleed all over the place. She noticed the phone ID read UNKNOWN CALLER but assumed it was the takeout she had placed an order for.

"Hello?"

"_Hello, Kirby."_

From the very first syllable, it was like Kirby's blood had turned to ice. That oh-so familiar voice saying her name made her want to throw up.

"Who is this?"

"_Would you believe it if I said someone from the grave?"_ The voice was cold, mocking even.

"Bullshit."

The gravelly voice chuckled menacingly. _"There's that fighting spirit. It looks like you turned out to be final girl material. Maybe you'll even outlast the original one." _

"Stop hiding behind a voice you _fucking_ coward."

Sidney had just showered and changed when she heard Kirby talking downstairs. She presumed she was ordering until she paid attention and listened to the hostel tone that was being taken.

Rushing downstairs, Sidney was alarmed when she saw red on the floor, small blotches that were smudged against the wooden flooring. Following them into the kitchen with haste, Sidney's relief to see Kirby standing there was replaced with fear as she saw Kirby's expression.

"_Don't worry, Kirby. This is not the end by a long stretch. You'll find out who I am. Soon enough._"

The call ended a moment later, and Sidney watched Kirby slowly shift the phone from her ear downwards, dropping it on the table and recoiling as if it were poisonous.

"It was him. That voice." Kirby's voice cracked, showing pure unbridled fear for the first time in a long time. "I would know it anywhere. This isn't over."


	10. Chapter 10

_**For Liv.**_

The single phrase that Kirby had ended with was vibrating in Sidney's mind. The three words 'it's not over' bouncing around her skull helplessly as she remained rooted to the spot. After each murder spree, each funeral she had attended and every therapy session, there had been a small glimmer of hope that it was really done. A tiny flicker would slip through the mask that she tried to put out that this time… _this time…_ she might just be left alone to live her life. But after each horrific event, each scar and each loss, that small light had gradually gotten less and less bright.

And right now? That light had been extinguished completely and Sidney felt like she had been catapulted back to square one.

"Sidney? Sidney? What do we do?" Kirby asked. The phone was still hanging limply in her hand, a conduit for what was going to come.

"We need to call Dewey. He can maybe get a hold of the number that called." Sidney told her. Even though she was practically a veteran in this now, it didn't dull the overwhelming sense of terror and trepidation she felt. But she was quick to remind herself that it wasn't just her anymore. So, she tried to keep a level head for the sake of Kirby. "Until we get hold of the records, we need to keep as calm as possible."

"But I heard him. He sounded exactly the same!" Kirby replied, flustered at the thought that Sidney felt she was being overdramatic and blowing the whole situation out of proportion.

Upon seeing the mixed expression of disbelief, upset and frustration on Kirby's face, Sidney quickly shook her head and walked over to her.

"I believe that you heard what you heard, and trust me when I say that I know that voice will never leave you. But I also know that technology has developed, and people can do things that weren't possible when this first happened to me." She explained.

It wasn't a lie by any stretch of imagination. Even when she was at college, Sidney had been inundated by hoax calls and sinister voices asking her what her favourite scary movie was and whether she wanted to die or not. Of course, these had been prominent when the first Stab film showed up in theatres, and although some of those tones had been sinister and dark, none of them made her blood run cold like the one that haunted her every waking hour. Back then, she had been blessed with caller ID, a safety net which didn't exist anymore since keeping yourself anonymous came at the mere flick of a button.

Sidney would be the first to acknowledge that she was way out of her depth with everything in today's standards. The last time she'd heard, the Stab producers had actually created some voice-changing software so that for two dollars, anyone could take their turn in playing psychotic killer. It wasn't just technology that had changed though, people had changed too. The pranks that had been played on her were thoughtless, but they weren't really done with any malice. It was just stupid college kids with too much time on their hands between classes and complete over-excitement with the movie premiere. It was different now. There were far too many people eager to cause harm and suffering simply because they could. This ability had been handed to them on a plate with the likes of social media and various apps tracking exact locations. That was just one of the plethora of reasons as to why Sidney avoided any of that side of life like the plague. Trouble seemed to find her without the aid of technology, she didn't need anything extra helping along the way.

Kirby was still upset, so Sidney comfortingly placed her hands on the younger woman's shoulders.

"I believe you, Kirby. I promise. I'm going to call Dewey and we'll get this looked into."

"Don't go!" Kirby interjected as Sidney headed to the door. As Sidney turned her head, an embarrassed expression flooded Kirby. "I mean… just in case this isn't a joke, we shouldn't be on our own…right?"

Sidney smiled at her reassuringly. "My phone is in my purse; I just have to grab it. I'm not going to leave you on your own."

Much to her and Kirby's relief, Dewey hadn't hesitated in asking them both to immediately come to the station with the phone, and when they arrived he was waiting outside to lead them to his office.

"Obviously, we're treating this very seriously. As soon as you came off the phone I asked the service provider to pull Kirby's phone records." Dewey sighed, leaning back in his worn-out chair as he gazed at the two women opposite him.

"Well, what happens now?" Kirby asked, keen to know what was going on.

"Best-case scenario, we get a phone number and we track the location." The silence that followed Dewey's response seemed to echo around the room.

"But…that's easy, right? Phones track everything nowadays." Kirby interjected.

"Easy, yes… but highly unlikely." Dewey drummed his fingers on the table, his frustration at the situation evident.

"What do you mean unlikely?"

Sidney could feel the sinking in her chest as she fixed her eyes on Dewey. The wariness in which he was treating this situation made her feel incredibly uneasy. She knew the answer to that question, and it was one that nobody wanted to hear, but needed to.

"Unlikely means that we might be looking at worst case scenario." Sidney eventually trailed off.

"And what's that?"

"Whoever made that call didn't want to be found. Probably used a burner phone. With the phone call being so short it means there's no way it can be tracked, and besides, it wasn't live anyway." Sidney answered, leaning back in her own chair now and rubbing the back of her neck.

"As it stands, there's no reason to believe that this is anything more than a sick individual trying their luck and creating unnecessary issues." Dewey quickly piped up. "But…we just need to make sure."

With no further updates to be given, Sidney and Kirby stood up to leave.

"Actually Kirby, would you mind just heading next door to Deputy Hicks? We want a recorded statement of what was said in the conversation."

"I.. I don't know if I remember word for word but I remember what he was talking about." She told him. "Does that matter?"

"Just do your best." He smiled at her and watched her leave, waiting until he heard Kirby knock on the door and the latch close before he spoke again.

"So, what do you really think?" Dewey asked Sidney, removing his police cap and setting it on the desk.

Chewing the already shredded flesh from the inside of her cheek, Sidney sighed and pushed a hand through her hair.

"I don't really know. With the whole story out there for anyone to read and become invested in, it's not exactly difficult to cause damage with everything at your fingertips."

"What I don't quite understand is how Kirby's phone number was obtained." Dewey replied.

"I mean… I don't know much about it, but if you're good with technology…" Sidney trailed off.

"I don't doubt that. Kirby is on all forms of social media and even if her phone number isn't featured, as you said, someone good with a good grasp for technology would be able to figure it out. But I just don't understand why…"

"People can be cruel." Sidney answered simply. "They don't often need a reason."

"I agree. But surely in this day and age where there's a news story every time you update your phone, there would be other things to target." He mused. "Think about it. This story is over a month old now. In that space of time there've been two terrorist attacks, stabbings, shootings… you name it and the world has seen it. Why is someone so fixated by this one thing?"

Sidney took note of Dewey's expression then- and though she didn't want to admit it- it was looking to be more than a cruel prank.

"You think there's something in this, don't you?"

Dewey shrugged his shoulders reluctantly and looked like he was considering just how to put things.

"It's just… with the phone call and the incident with the photograph." He trailed off for a moment, letting the statement hit and sink heavily. It was only when he glanced at her did he shake his head and give her a small smile. "Look, they could all simply be a set of coincidences. We can rationalise what happened with the photo and put the phone call down to a prank. But there could also be someone out there who has decided to try and pick up after where Jill and Charlie left off."

Sidney nodded as he said this, thankful for his honesty. No matter how much she didn't want to hear it, didn't want to even think about this whole mess starting up again, she needed to. She needed to be prepared

"So, what happens now?"

"Well, we extend police observation on both you and Kirby. You've already taken the initiative to stick together- and as much as I know how you feel about Woodsboro, I think it's best that you stay under our surveillance until we know if this goes any further."

Nodding he head once more, Sidney pushed herself up from the wall that she had been leaning against and headed to the door, Dewey following shortly behind her to walk her out.

"As soon as you know anything about the phone call, please let me know."

"Of course, Sid. You don't even need to ask. I'll see you in a couple of hours anyway, I'm on observation tonight, then you have Hicks tomorrow." He told her, knowing how she liked being kept in the loop about things.

"I bet Gale is rueing the day that I returned." Sidney mused, a feeble attempt at a joke that nonetheless made Dewey smile.

"Are you kidding? She's already booked the passenger seat next to me. We all get through this together Sid, just like we always have."

Only moments later, Kirby exited with Judy, who gave her a friendly pat on the shoulder.

"Remember, Kirby. Anything you need, I'm here."

"Thanks ma'am." Kirby waved awkwardly; some sort of cake gripped in her hand. "And thanks again for the lemon squares."

The car journey home was nearly a silent one, which hadn't been so different from the first journey. Sidney could have put the lack of conversation to the station down to fright and shock, but she had expected a little more from Kirby by now.

"Are you alright?" Sidney asked eventually, breaking the silence alongside the quick flick of her indicator light clicking rhythmically.

"Yeah…" Kirby said automatically, which made Sidney's eyebrow raise in response without even so much as looking at her. Once Kirby noticed, she sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "Yes…no… I don't know if I'm alright." She answered, slower this time as she averted her gaze to the scenery passing by in a blur of colours.

"It's alright to not be alright you know?" Sidney asked her, her grip on the wheel slacking ever so slightly. "I went through a year of college pretending to be fine. Got a boyfriend, made new friends… I even nearly joined a sorority." Sidney laughed a little at that as she remembered how desperate Hallie had been to get into the Delta Lambda Zeta house.

Kirby couldn't help but laugh at that. "You? I couldn't ever see you joining a sorority." She told her.

"I was going to because my roommate, Hallie, wanted to be in it so badly." She couldn't help but hear in her own ears the pang of sadness that tainted her sentence as she spoke about yet another person she loved and cared about being killed, just to get to her.

"Still…" Kirby said softly, allowing the sentence to trail off for a minute.

"The point is…I had all this happening around me…all this positive chaos because it distracted me. It made me feel like I was alright, even though looking back now, I wasn't."

"What happened then?"

"Well… then I did a complete one-eighty and became a social recluse." She admitted. "Nobody but Dewey and my dad knew where I was. I was holed up in this cabin in the middle of an untouched set of co-ordinates. I didn't even use my real name." She explained.

Kirby paused for a moment, trying to put together what she said.

"What I mean Kirby… is that you don't always have to be alright all the time. Pretending you're fine all the time is just as bad as not allowing yourself any hope of coming out of not being okay."

Kirby once again focused on Sidney as she drove.

"So, what did you do to get a balance?"

The question made Sidney smile then, and she took a moment to glance at Kirby.

"I'll tell you when I find that one out myself."

That made Kirby chuckle, despite everything that she had been through that whole day. With Kate's funeral and the phone call, it had all just been so exhausting.

"Listen, I'm not going anywhere. There's two of us in the house and I know that house like the back of my hand. Dewey is on watch tonight with Gale, you'll be as safe as you can be."

"But you can't promise me it'll be alright." It was a statement of understanding now, not a question.

Sidney pulled up at the house and sighed softly.

"No, I can't. But we just have to trust that it will be enough."


	11. Chapter 11

Sidney wasn't sure what was worse, staying on edge and waiting for something bad to happen or something bad immediately happening and confirming her worst fears. Right now, being on edge seemed worse. What with Dewey's suspicions confirmed that there was no possible way to track the number, and the phone call itself still lingering in her mind, Sidney and Kirby both felt like they were trapped in some sort of limbo.

"I feel like I'm waiting for something to happen." Kirby said quietly, nursing a cup of coffee that was now cool as she stared out of the large bay window towards the mass of forest. Her eyes flickered between the woodland area and the police car for hours on end, and now was no different.

Sidney, who had previously been perched on the couch stood up and made her way over to Kirby.

"I know that it's difficult to do, Kirby…but try not to think about it too much. It will drive you crazy." But even in spite of this, she took a quick sweep of the scenery to make sure that nothing was untoward or suspicious.

"How can I possibly do that? Compared to you, I'm virtually a rookie. This isn't like part of my everyday routine," Kirby snapped, rubbing her forehead.

"Hey, trust me when I say that survival rates don't count for anything in this. It's not last in first out." Sidney interjected, slightly defensive herself.

Kirby seemed to pick up on the prickliness of her tone and also seemed to realise she had been unreasonable. "Sorry Sid. I didn't mean to take anything out on you, I'm just really tired I guess," she sighed and ran a hand through her cropped blonde hair.

Despite saying that experience wasn't greatly valuable in the situation they were in, Sidney knew that the emotions she was currently feeling were at least familiar ones. This was all brand new to Kirby, and even though her feisty exterior made it easy to forget, Sidney recognised that she was probably just as terrified as Sidney. Maybe even more so.

"Don't worry about it." Sidney replied, any sharpness in her tone dulling. "I understand it must be really difficult for you. I guess I forget sometimes."

"Forget what?" Kirby questioned.

"Well…" Sidney trailed off a moment. "You're in a different situation to anything I've been in. After what happened around here the first time, there was a comfort that I had people who were experiencing everything with me. Especially with Randy, I had someone my own age who was in my friendship group. It must have been really difficult for you being… the only survivor amongst your friends."

Kirby nodded. It was as if Sidney had been able to put everything she was thinking into words.

"I just feel like such an idiot…" She sighed before continuing. "There's you and Sheriff Riley and Mrs Riley and you just seem to figure out what is going to happen. You make all these assumptions and I just feel like a dumb kid clinging onto your leg."

"Listen, Kirby. I mean it when I say that I'm no better prepared for anything that might take place. The only thing that runs through all of this shit is a mask and suffering. And you only need to see it once." She explained.

Although they were just words, Sidney saw Kirby's shoulders sag, almost as if she was relieved to be told she wasn't such a burden.

"Thanks… that makes me feel a little better. Anyways, it's been a whole twenty-four hours with nothing happening." She didn't know whether she was trying to make amends for how she had snapped at Sidney or whether she was trying to comfort herself- maybe it was a little bit of both.

Sidney glanced at the clock before looking back at Kirby. "It's nearly midnight, Kirby. You should try and get some sleep." She didn't want Kirby feeling like she was under her control because really, Sidney wasn't anything to do with her. However, it was easy to see that Kirby was absolutely exhausted. Sidney had heard her pacing back and forth the night previous and she was also pretty sure she had heard her crying too. In an odd instinct, Sidney had immediately wanted to rush to her and comfort her like a mother would to a newborn. Yet, experience had also taught her that sometimes you needed some time to cry. After all, she had certainly shed her own share of tears- but very rarely let anyone else see it. She wouldn't have wanted anyone to, and she somehow knew Kirby would feel the same way.

"Yeah, I didn't sleep much last night. Every time I close my eyes I see that mask."

Sidney paused for a moment, considering the options. The safest place in the house for her had been…

"Why don't you stay in my room tonight? We'll swap?" She offered.

"Are you sure?"

Sidney nodded. "Here, follow me. I want to show you something."

Moments later, Kirby and Sidney were standing her old room. Closing the door, Sidney opened her closet door against it. Using the door handle, she tried to yank it open, but the closet door caused it to jam. It revealed the small space that could be seen. An arm could get through but anything beyond that would be impossible.

"Shit, no way! I thought that was just part of the movie…" Kirby trailed off, trying the door for herself and grinning. "And then you stabbed him with your scissors!"

Sidney couldn't help but laugh at that as she shook her head.

"No, not quite. I managed to get hold of the police." She manoeuvred the door and the closet so that they both became unlocked.

"I mean…when I watched it, I thought there could be no possible way that someone's architecture plans could be that shitty." She laughed too, "but I guess it saved your life."

"I guess it did…" Sidney smiled. The two women paused for a moment before Sidney grabbed a pair of flannel shorts and a long dark shirt. "Take the room, it hasn't let me down yet. Make sure you lock the window." She told her.

"I will. Thanks Sid…"

"No problem,"

Judy and Adam both sat in the patrol car. Darkness had quickly settled over the town of Woodsboro and the only light in the vicinity came from the house and the interior of the police car. Looking around from the passenger seat, Adam let out a vigorous shiver.

"I love Woodsboro, y'know? I grew up here. Even with the whole murder background. But here…" He shook his head, glancing at the forest just a few feet away from them. "Here has always given me the creeps."

Judy chuckled at that and nodded. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Ever since the death of Mrs Prescott, this place just seemed haunted. Scared me so much I even tried to get out of here." Judy revealed, taking a sip from her coffee flask.

"You haven't lived in Woodsboro all your life?" He asked, clearly a little surprised.

"Nah, I left high school and took a course in business management. Moved over to Mississippi for a while actually, opened my own bakery." As if to prove her point, Judy extended a box of mini flapjack cubes to him, which he happily accepted.

"You went from baker to cop?" He asked, holding his hand over his mouth in order to continue the conversation whilst eating. "There's definitely a story there."

Popping a square into her mouth, Judy chuckled and munched thoughtfully. "Not quite as tragic as the ones that linger in this town. But yeah, I suppose there is."

"And… any details you wanna share?"

"The bakery was doing okay, I was really enjoying it. Then one day I got held at gunpoint." Judy said softly, taking another bite of her flapjack.

"Crap, did you get hurt?"

"Physically? No, I wasn't hurt. But I felt so helpless and weak. I never wanted to feel like that again. I was too scared to go into the shop and so that lost money and eventually shut. I ended up enrolling in a self-defence class and took quite a shine to it. I guess I wanted to protect people and never have them feel how I felt."

"That's cool. Why did you come back to Woodsboro?" He probed.

"Well with the loans I took out and then I owed a ton of money for the bakery, I had to go bankrupt. Lost my house, my car… everything. Moved back home with the parents and then got my own place out here."

"Well…I'm really glad you're here. Who else is gonna help me fill out this uniform with treats?" he asked, giving his trademark cheeky smile.

"Well that's my second priority to saving the world." She teased.

"As it shou-" He paused as he quickly looked around, his neck twisting sharply towards the opening of the forest just outside Sidney's house. "Did you hear that?"

Immediately alert, Judy lifted her head and craned around. The silence was unnerving and sent a daunting sense of dread swirling to the pit of her stomach.

"You probably just heard an animal or something…" Judy trailed off, cut off from saying anything else when there was another rustle. It was like someone scraping leaves with the side of their foot.

"I'm going to go check it out." Adam told her, fingers twitching towards his gun to make sure it was in check before he reached on top of the dashboard for his flashlight.

"Adam…you should stay here. I'll go." Judy offered, extending her hand for his flashlight, but he quickly shook his head.

"With all due respect Deputy Judy, it would be better if I went. All I know is that Miss Prescott and Miss Reed are safe in the house and you have a close eye on it. If something were to happen… you'd probably be a better shot than me from here." He reasoned bashfully.

It did make sense to Judy. Her eyes were experienced and she knew the signs to look out for.

"Alright, but keep your radio with you at all times. This is private land, so anything suspicious call it in." Judy told him, sitting straighter in her chair.

Adam nodded and gave a mock salute.

"Probably just an animal, right?" He gave a slight smile, but Judy was well adapted enough to know that he was anxious.

She watched him amble off in the direction that the noise came from, right until he disappeared into the trees. For a moment, the silence was palpable.

"Deputy Judy do you copy?" The sound of the crackly radio made Judy almost jump out of her skin. Laughing a little to herself, she shrank back against the worn beige leather of the car's interior.

"I've got you Adam, you're good." She was about to pluck another square of flapjack from her container when her phone rang, the screen flashing:

_Dewey Riley_

"Hi boss." Judy answered, taking a bite of her flapjack. "It's all going good here, before you ask. Officer Burke has just gone to investigate a noise, but it's probably just nothing, Sir."

"Oh… but it could be something, Judy."

The caller ID had registered with Dewey's name…but this definitely wasn't Dewey.

"Who is this?"

"Who do you think it is?" The voice asked, a slight hint of amusement seeping through.

"Where's Dewey?"

"Tut tut Deputy. That's not who you're supposed to be concerned over, shouldn't you be asking something else?"

"What do you mean?" She asked quietly, hand reaching towards the in-car radio that was programmed directly to the station.

"You'll never live to find out if you don't put your hand on the dashboard where I can fucking see it!" The voice snarled sharply.

With her heart pounding in her chest, Judy slowly raised her hand and placed it on the front of the dashboard, her other hand holding her phone up.

"Okay… so…what do you mean?" Judy repeated, her head craning left and right, trying to spot anything out of the ordinary.

"Surely you should be asking: Where's Sidney? Where's Kirby?" His voice was mocking now.

"They're safe." She replied instinctively, cringing at the cold, harsh laugh that came through the other end of the phone.

"And just how sure are you about that?"

"What do you want?" Judy slowly started to pull her hand down again, trying to be as inconspicuous as she possibly could.

"You were saved by a vest last time Deputy. But a vest only protects part of you… let's see how much damage I can do to the rest of you."

The phone call ended abruptly, and no sooner had it ended did Judy grab the radio.

"I need backup at Sidney Prescott's house, 1800 Calist-" Her voice was cut off by the splintering of glass as something was thrown through the back window, sending shards flying through the patrol car as Judy screamed in reaction.

Abandoning the car, Judy quickly exited and turned around. She raised her gun from its holster and took aim.

The eerie silence returned once more as Judy listened desperately, half of her wishing for a noise to erupt and the other half wishing it didn't.

The familiar sound of the static from the vehicle radio startled her so badly that she swung the gun round and took fire, a bullet bouncing off the bonnet and straying elsewhere.

"Shit…"

"Deputy Hicks… can you hear me?" The voice over the radio sounded like Jeremy, and she felt a wave of relief flood through her just to hear his voice.

"Hicks? Do you copy? Can you repeat the message" The voice echoed again.

Grimacing, Judy edged towards the open car door, trying to lean in to grab the radio. Knowing there was no other option, she quickly turned around, her back to her surroundings.

"I need back up at the Prescott residence you need to h-" The half gasp, half gurgle that escaped Judy was almost animal-like as she felt the steel of a razor sharp blade plunge into the bottom of her back, missing the vest she wore by mere inches. The blade twisted, scraping the bone and making her cry out as she slowly turned around.

She'd grown up with that horrifying mask becoming the mascot of her town. Seen dozens of children and teenagers wander around with it on during anniversaries and Halloween. But she had never seen anything so terrifying as it stood before her now.

She felt the blade leave her body, only to be thrust into her lower stomach, taking her breath away as the stickiness of blood oozed between the layers of her clothing, crying out in pain as she stared into the cold void of its eyes.

The sound of the gunshot had echoed around the area and as soon as she heard it, Sidney's ears pricked up and she almost leapt off her chair. Her first thought was to run to Kirby, but she beat her to it as Sidney heard thudding from her room and quick footsteps running down the stairs to where she resided in the living room.

"Did you hear that?! It was a gunshot!" Kirby told her, looking panicked and flustered.

"Follow me." Sidney flew through to the kitchen and grabbed a kitchen knife, opening the drawer and pulling out a small handgun, handing it to Kirby.

"It's loaded. You see anything that resembles it. You shoot." Sidney told her firmly, although even she couldn't stop the slight trembling of her hand.

"What do we do?" Kirby whispered frantically as Sidney switched the kitchen lights off, putting a finger to her lips to try and keep her silent. If something was going on, the less knowledge the intruder had of their whereabouts the better.

Silence echoed around the empty house; nothing could be heard anywhere. That was until the crunching of boots on gravel appeared. It started off quiet, then grew louder and louder as whoever was approaching the door came closer. Alongside the steadier footprints were other more frantic ones, like a child trying to desperately keep up with adult footsteps, stumbling and dragging.

"Sidney…" Kirby whispered, tears sparkling in her eyes as she clutched the gun so tightly in her hands that her knuckles had turned white.

The crunching of gravel stopped, and Sidney slowly peeked down the hall. The light of the living room was still on and a shadow had appeared overcast in the hallway as a result.

_Tap, Tap, Tap._

"Sidney don't go!" Kirby hissed, grabbing her arm as Sidney began to make her way down the hall.

_Tap, Tap, Tap._

Ignoring Kirby, Sidney crept forward again. Kirby was desperate not to be left on her own and quickly followed her.

_Tap, Tap, Tap._

There was only one window in her living room, and as Sidney took a deep breath she slowly looked in, a sharp gasp leaving her lips. It was like she had forgotten that they were hiding.

_Tap, Tap, Tap._

On the opposite side of the mirror, a barely conscious Judy was held up by a black gloved hand, the haunting white of the mask reflected in the living room light. Sidney knew for a fact that despite the anonymity of the stare, whoever was beneath those robes was staring completely at her.

_Tap, Tap, Tap._

The figure pushed Judy's head against the glass, using her forehead to knock on the window and make the noise.

"Oh my god," Kirby whispered. At some point, she'd caught up with Sidney and stared in horror at the scene.

The tapping stopped then, as if the stranger had obtained their full audience and was now ready to move on to the next part of the show.

Judy seemed to somehow recognise the faces of Sidney and Kirby through the blood blurring her vision, and although she said nothing, her eyes were pleading…begging for help.

"I'll call the police." Kirby whispered, though she didn't have a chance to even set foot out of the room when the figure yanked Judy's head back by her ponytail, baring her neck before using the knife in their free hand to slice through her neck deeply. Blood spattered against the window and Kirby screamed as they watched Judy's lifeless body hang by her hair.

The sirens blaring brought Sidney out of the shock of what she had just witnessed, and the banging on the door made both of their heads turn.

"Sidney! Kirby! It's Dewey. Open up!" A voice called.

And when they looked back…

_The masked figure was gone._

Running to the door, Kirby flung it open near hysterical as Dewey stood, gun out.

"Where is he?!"

"Outside! It's Judy… she's- " Sidney replied, unable to finish her sentence as her voice was so shaky. She took a deep breath and clutched her hand over her mouth. It was like she had forgotten to breathe in those long few minutes.

Dewey flew through to the front of the house, his heart dropping as he saw Judy laying motionless on the floor. Bending down to check her pulse, his head sunk as four other colleagues searched the grounds.

"We got Burke, Sir!" One called from a little further down the path. "We're gonna need an ambulance. Head injury. He's semi-conscious!"

Dewey slowly stood up, having to look away from his deputy for just a moment.

"Hicks is dead." He said, in a weary and broken voice, rubbing his forehead as he considered who he had just lost. Not just a colleague, but a friend.

Jeremy approached Dewey sadly, his head bowed as he looked down at Judy's corpse.

"We've searched the immediate grounds, Sir. There's nobody."

"I figured you were going to say that."


	12. Chapter 12

Sitting at the police station, Sidney's eyes were fixed upon the beige wall. The only sign of any movement was her foot incessantly tapping against the leg of Dewey's desk. Kirby had also been reduced to silence. Sometimes, when Sidney glanced over at her, she would watch Kirby's mouth slacken as if ready to speak, yet no words came out.

Judy was dead.

Sidney hadn't been close to Judy. In fact, she had been faintly embarrassed when the woman had confronted her on the landing of Kate and Jill's house. When Judy had asked Sidney if she remembered her and she'd not been able to confirm that she did, Sidney recalled feeling uncomfortable. Part of her actually questioned as to whether Judy knew more than she'd let on – or even if she'd been directly involved with the murders herself. Of course, when it was revealed that Jill and Charlie had been behind the mask, Sidney had felt a sense of guilt. Now Judy was dead, Sidney felt ashamed that she could have ever doubted her.

Months… no, years' worth of therapy told her that this wasn't her fault. And even though Sidney didn't see herself as a victim, she could admit that she was more than entitled to have trust issues after what she had been through. Boyfriends, friends…_relatives_ all had their turn in trying to quite literally stab her in the back.

Dewey walked into the office at some point; Sidney hadn't noticed when he first entered. Now, he sat at his chair looking like a defeated man. Amongst all the chaos, it was quite easy for Sidney to forget that she wasn't the only person to have lost someone in all the murders. Dewey had lost his sister, his mother and Jennifer. He had watched his wife get stabbed and had undertaken life-changing injuries. And now he was sitting there having lost his first deputy- and it was all inadvertently because of her.

"Do you know anything?" Sidney asked him eventually, her voice dry and cracked from nearly an hour-long silence, a glass of water stood neglected and untouched on the desk.

Dewey slowly shook his head and rubbed his face. It was like he had aged thirty years in the space of a few hours.

"We…checked her call history. Her phone was still in the car. She received a call from me, but my name was listed under two different numbers."

"But why would somebody use your name?" Kirby asked, seeming to finally find her voice.

"I don't know, a weak attempt to frame me maybe? It's been done before."

"Or maybe because whoever did this knew that if she saw it was you calling, she'd make sure to answer." Sidney offered up. It wasn't difficult to see just how much Judy had looked up to him. She remembered Gale muttering about Judy's school-girl crush on him, but from what Sidney had seen, there was nothing there but the deepest level of respect and admiration for her superior. But Dewey connected her to Sidney- albeit loosely- which meant that her life was threatened in the crossfire.

"But surely it would have to be someone who was able to get hold of her phone. It's not exactly something people just leave around anymore."

"Not necessarily." Kirby interjected swiftly, appearing grateful to be of some use instead of just clinging on to whatever experience the others had. "People hack into phones all the time. Once a bug gets into the system, a hacker can get a hold of any information- even contacts under different names."

"How much do you know about that? It could be really useful." Sidney told her.

Kirby shrugged her shoulders. "Charlie mentioned it around the time the murders started happening. Go figure." She rolled her eyes. "He spoke about how the killer could easily manipulate people's phones so that they were forced to watch whatever was being streamed." She shrugged again despairingly. "I just figured if you could do all that, inputting a phone number would be easy in comparison."

Dewey sighed. "So actually, this doesn't bring us any closer to a range of suspects." That was really the only thing they had to go off right now. Prints didn't show anything obvious and there was no DNA left at the scene. Whoever had done this clearly knew what they were doing and had made sure not to leave a trace.

"How is officer Burke?" Kirby asked. "Will he be okay?"

"Off-duty for a few days. He went off after a noise was heard. Says he heard the cracking of twigs behind him. Doesn't remember much else. Looks like he was hit in the head with something pretty hard."

"But he's going to be okay, right?"

"A mild concussion, luckily."

"Luckily." Sidney repeated in a quiet murmur, glancing at Dewey. Kirby wasn't stupid though; she knew what Sidney was getting at.

"You think he's involved?" she asked curiously.

Rubbing the back of her neck, like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders, it was Sidney's turn to shrug this time. "One thing you learn about survival, Kirby, is that you think everybody did it until you actually find out."

"We'll be talking to Adam tomorrow to see if anything has changed. Obviously with a blow to the head he's a little confused." Dewey told them. "Couldn't get much out of the poor kid anyway. After I'd told him about Hicks, he was crying so much that I could barely understand a word he said. Blames himself."

"Why?" Sidney glanced up again sharply.

"Well from what I gather, Hicks had offered to go and check out the noise after Adam had heard it. He said he'd go because she was better keeping an eye on you two. Guess he thinks that if he'd let her go, she'd be the one with the concussion and he'd be the one bled out."

"But that's not how this works… it's not just a free for all, right? The killer would have inputted your name into her phone deliberately…wouldn't he?" Kirby asked.

"Yeah, we took Adam's phone as a precaution but it's clean. No double numbers, no suspicious calls. Nothing." Dewey answered

Sidney nodded. It was a habit she had quickly developed, thinking the worst of people. However, that sort of habit had also ensured her survival.

"You're both welcome to stay at our house tonight." Dewey offered. "In fact, Gale and I both insist on it whilst they're investigating at your house, Sid."

"I don't know if I can go back there." Kirby said quietly, blinking back tears. She'd never watched anyone physically killed right in front of her. It was worse than any horror movie could have ever prepared her for.

"To be quite honest, with this psycho still on the loose, I'd rather you both weren't staying there. It's too secluded and there's too many places for someone to hide." Dewey admitted.

"Well, what about my house?" Kirby asked. "It's familiar and the only people I've every invited in are dead. It means there's some leverage, right? Plus, it's closer to the town and way more accessible."

Sidney was silently thankful that Kirby had come up with that suggestion. It made sense that they'd be safer and that's what really mattered.

"If that works for you both, then it's something I'm agreeable to. But I need more police protection on you, so for tonight I'd feel a lot better if you stayed with us."

Reluctantly, Sidney agreed. She was just about to thank Dewey when a faint buzzing echoed around the room. Reaching into her jacket pocket, she pulled out her phone. Her brow furrowed as she glanced at the caller ID.

"Is it the killer?" Kirby asked, automatically on edge as she noted Sidney's half-confused, half-fearful expression.

"It's saying it's you, Kirby." Sidney said quietly.

"But that's impossible. My phone is right here." Kirby reached into her own pocket and pulled the phone out to prove it. "That's not my number."

Jerking into action, Dewey flew to the door and called out "I need a recorder and a tracker in here now!"

Pressing the green button to accept the call, Sidney pressed the phone to her ear.

"Hello?" It was probably foolish of her to hope she would hear another voice that wasn't the one she was expecting.

"Hello, Sidney."

No matter how many times she'd heard that voice, it turned her blood to ice. That same voice made her feel alone, no matter how many people there were in the room with her.

"Did you enjoy the show?"

"You sick fuck." Sidney snarled, anger boiling over.

"Now now, where are your manners? I take the time to come and find you after so many years…" The voice trailed off menacingly.

Sidney glanced at Dewey who motioned for her to continue, a frustrated look on his face as he waited for the correct equipment.

"You think you're doing something original? Something special?" Sidney asked, feeling the familiar hold of white-hot rage seep through her. "I've been through this shit four fucking times now!" She was trying to keep a level head and not let anger rule her mouth. She didn't want to make a stupid mistake, but it was difficult to contain her rage.

"Ah, but there's something that makes this _extra_ special."

"And what's that?"

"You don't get to find that out until much much later. I don't want to spoil the big reveal."

"I don't want to play your games!" Sidney interjected quickly, her grip tight around the phone.

"Well you have no fucking choice, do you?!" Whoever was behind that manipulator had briefly lost their temper with her in return. The heavy breathing was just as sinister as hearing whoever was calling speak. Then, a small chuckle erupted from the speaker.

"But seeing as you asked so _nicely_, I suppose I can give you a hint." The voice was mocking now, toying with her fear and anxiety. "To find me you're going to have to look back at your past and present."

Sidney scoffed, the anger sweeping through her once more. "Who are you, Charles fucking Dickens? You're no different to any of the others. But don't forget I killed them. I'm still here."

The voice laughed again, harshly now.

"For now. But when I'm through with you, you'll have no future."

The small vibration from her phone told her that whoever had called had hung up.

"Shit." Sidney cursed, slamming her phone onto her lap as two officers came practically sprinting through with a recorder and tracker system.

"Sorry boss…we had to find a tape and then unplug everything an-" Dewey cut them off.

"It's done now. Take it back."

The two men looked exceptionally sheepish and headed back out with the equipment again.

"What did he say?" Kirby asked her.

"The usual." Sidney glanced across at her and Dewey. "Are we alright to leave now?"

"Sure. Officer Bradshaw and Thornton will drive you back and stay on patrol. I still have some stuff to clear up here, but Gale will be waiting up for you both."

Sidney nodded. She supposed that she must have looked quite cold and stoic. Inside though? Inside her thoughts were running at a million miles an hour and she could barely concentrate on one before the next one passed.

"Whoever this is… they're involved in my past." Sidney told Dewey. "That's what he said."

Dewey paused for a moment, deep in thought. He looked stuck, like he didn't know exactly what to do next.

"We need some help with this. I'm going to call around and see what I can find. _Who_ I can find." It was a mammoth task, and he didn't know where to begin.

Dewey had never exactly been the hero who swept in and saved the day, but he had always been an almost constant reassurance to Sidney that everything would be okay. Seeing Dewey so lost and vulnerable really struck fear into her.

As she and Kirby prepared to leave, Dewey reached out and grabbed Sidney by the hand. "We'll fix this, Sid. Just like we did before, we'll find whoever it is… or they are." He told her, giving her a reassuring squeeze.

"At what cost this time Dewey?" Sidney asked quietly, her head hung for a moment before she gave him a small smile, a squeeze back and left him to work in his office.


	13. Chapter 13

"Sorry it's not been dusted or anything, I'll get it sorted. You're more than welcome to have my room instead." Kirby told Sidney as they headed upstairs, the older of the two lugging an overnight bag behind her. They had been escorted through her house by the police as Sidney grabbed what she could. She didn't have much of anything as she'd only packed enough things for a couple of nights in Woodsboro- and the majority of those clothes had been bloodied, torn and held for evidence. It seemed an age ago since Sidney had been cruising down the highway in her rental, and she remembered that brief fleeting moment where she'd just felt…_ready._

She wanted to put the past to rest after all that time away. Only five years ago, she would have broken down at the concept of having to return to the place where everything had first started. Woodsboro haunted her dreams, hanging like a grim reaper shrouded in a black cloak. There was a reason as to why it has been the last stop, and that was because it marked a new chapter in her life. She had worked so hard to gain the courage to come back, and now she wished she hadn't. The only remainder of her broken family that she had were dead, everybody else treated her like an infection- and how could she possibly blame them? Woodsboro had lived in complete peace until she had set foot into the town. People were scared of her. _She _was scared.

"It's fine, it's perfect." Sidney reassured her as the two headed into the room. The curtains were drawn and the sunlight glinted sharply through the glass, giving the room a warm and open feel to it. Outside featured a row of detached large houses in viewpoint, much like the one she was currently in. And for those precious few seconds, it did feel perfect. Safe. Surrounded, even. Dropping her bag on the unmade bed, Sidney looked around as Kirby rushed in and out with sheets.

"You don't have to make the bed, Kirby. I've got it."

"No, no it's fine. I've got it. The closet is empty and the drawers too- feel free to put your stuff in there." She offered, grabbing two ends of the sheet and attempting to pull it over the edges of the mattress. Once secured, she attempted to do the same to the others, only when she did, the first two corners sprung from their holding place which made Kirby groan in frustration.

In spite of everything that happened only a few hours previous, the sight made Sidney smile and she grabbed the other two corners and folded them over so that they stayed in place.

"Don't worry about it, I don't have anything to unpack really." She explained. "And I hardly think it's the right time to go on a shopping trip."

Kirby thought for a moment then without saying anything, walked out of the room and returned moments later with a pile of clothes that looked to be mostly Sidney's size.

"They were my mom's clothes," she explained. "Before she lost all the weight because of the cancer."

Sidney's brow furrowed as she watched Kirby's strong shield falter slightly. She was just a kid, really. Not much older than Sidney had been when the first attacks had happened to her. Right then, she looked lost and alone- and she felt the compulsion to wrap her arms around her and embrace her tightly. Of course, she didn't. Kirby would've hated that.

"It's really kind of you Kirby, but if it's going to upset you I-"

"It's fine," Kirby quickly clipped back. "Honestly, they're just clothes and … and she would've wanted you to wear them under this circumstance. She'd have pretty much forced you." Kirby laughed.

"She sounds exactly like you." Sidney chuckled and properly focused in on Kirby. "I know that sounds weird but…"

"I know what you mean," she interjected, smiling in an understanding fashion. "She didn't give birth to me or anything – but I'm just like her. Guess it's just how she raised me."

"To be a fighter," Sidney confirmed.

"Exactly."

There was a comfortable silence between the two for a few moments before Sidney's curiosity got the better of her.

"Do you know much about your birth mom?"

Kirby shook her head, leaning against the wall. "Not much, she didn't want to be found." She looked down for a few moments before gazing back up at Sidney. "I think I'd have liked to know her though. Maybe bad-assery is in the genes."

The flippant comment made Sidney chuckle, and she nodded her head. "You're not alone in that, you know?" She perched on the bed, wrestling with getting the pillows into the covers. "I had my mom until I was sixteen. Turns out, I didn't know very much about her at all."

"Do you get angry with her?" Kirby asked, her own curiosity spiking now.

Sidney hesitated for a moment. She had been undeniably angry at one point. The year after she left Windsor College and had isolated herself in the cabin. She had spent so many nights laid awake, wondering why. There were so many questions, and at that point she had blamed her mother not only for her own murder, but for the events that had occurred after it. If she hadn't been so secretive, if she hadn't been so promiscuous… if she hadn't….

It was different now. She was in a much better place, and of course she understood that her mother couldn't have ever pre-empted what was going to happen in the future.

"I used to be, yeah. Very angry."

"What changed?"

"She didn't have the knife in her hand."

The silence that fell upon the two was not an uncomfortable one, once again. They were in very unfamiliar circumstances being two virtual strangers who were sharing their deepest thoughts to one another.

"Are you?" Sidney asked.

"Am I what?"

"Angry at your birth mom?"

Sidney observed as Kirby gave the same momentary pause that she had, almost a hesitation.

"I used to be. I didn't get any of the circumstances as to why she left. My parents have been great, but it would have been nice to know my real mom,"

"What about your dad?"

"I mean it would have been great to meet him too, don't get me wrong. But dads don't have to be in the picture, do they? It's different with a mom. She could've just got rid of me and had done with it… but she chose to carry me for all those months, and for what? To dump me into the care system?"

Although Kirby had admitted that she used to feel angry at her birth parents, it didn't take a trained psychiatrist to note that she still harboured some of those emotional frustrations. To Sidney, she could see that by the way Kirby tensed up, and the way that her voice got just that little bit higher that those feelings of anger were still very much present.

"I'm sorry you feel that she abandoned you. I don't suppose it helps any, but people do things for the greater good sometimes. Maybe you would've been worse off with her in the end. Nobody can tell for sure. But I do think it takes a great deal of strength to give…to give a child up. It might not have been right and it might not be any comfort- but you're amazing. A credit to both your parents." She explained. As Sidney spoke, she wasn't actually sure why she was saying it at all. This was none of her business, Kirby's emotions and life story didn't match her own…

But she could see it from another point of view, after all.

"Yeah, I guess so," Kirby conceded, but her smile had faded and she had her knuckles clenched. It was obvious the situation was hard to talk about, and Sidney felt extremely guilty for bringing it up.

"Sorry…I didn't mean to upset you at all, I don't really know what I'm talking about."

Kirby straightened up from the wall that she'd been leaning against and offered a tight smile. "Don't worry about it. You're only telling me what everyone else has been telling me, heck even my parents came out with the same lines. I just hope I'll believe it one day," she shrugged and glanced at her phone. "I know it's the afternoon and everything, but neither of us have had any sleep and I'm wiped out. I'm gonna head for a nap, okay?" Even if it wasn't, she was still edging out the door.

"Sure."

"If you need anything, I'm just down the hall. There's drinks and food in the refrigerator." She told her.

"I'm okay, thanks. I think I'm going to do the same. It was a long night."

Once Kirby had taken leave and Sidney had adjusted her pillows, it only took a few minutes of staring at the ceiling before the blissful feeling of sleepiness began to take over. Although what they had seen that night had been horrific, it wasn't going to deprive her of what she needed. Rest.

_The air had changed._

_As Sidney inhaled, the all-too-familiar smell of antiseptic and latex filled her nostrils, causing her eyes to fly open in alarm. _

_All she saw was white._

_White sheets, white walls, white furniture._

_Why was she in a hospital?_

_Slowly sitting up, she felt the cool plastic slide down her arm, an admissions bracelet. _

"_What?" Sidney whispered to herself, running a hand through her hair and swinging herself out of bed. She grimaced as she felt a pull and tug at her lower body- it was a feeling she had only really felt once, but she remembered it like it was a fresh injury._

_Slowly this time, as not to aggravate the pain, she stood up, the white hospital gown falling and stopping at her knees._

"_Hello?" She called out, waiting for a moment before repeating the call._

_Nobody._

_Shuffling towards the door, Sidney stuck her head out in the hallway and looked left and right, but the ward was isolated. Where the hell was she?_

_Gripping the wooden bannister that was on the left had side of the wall, she shifted her weight from one foot to the other, the low tug becoming sharper and sharper with each step that she took. By the time she got to the end of the hallway, tears were streaming down her face and sweat had dampened her fringe. _

"_Hello? Is someone there?!" She half-shouted, half-panted. The silence was deafening._

_Then… a cry._

_Not a cry of pain or sadness, the cry of a new-born baby. It started off faintly, but became louder and louder with each passing moment._

_Sidney had assumed that a nurse would go to whatever room it was in, then see her if she got closer towards the noise. Slowly turning around, she took one step towards her room before her foot met something slippery, wet and warm. Before she could catch her balance, her foot gave way and her legs collapsed beneath her, making her cry out in pain._

_There was so much blood. Thick, hot masses of the substance leaving a trail down the hallway from where she had walked. Why hadn't she noticed it? When she glanced down, there was a deep bloodred stain coating the lower front of her gown._

_The panic bubble that rose in her throat made it almost impossible for her to breathe, let alone scream, and as she tried to get up, her bloody red feet kept slipping and sliding against the scarlet-washed tiles._

"_Please…please…" she cried, trying to pull herself up again and again. The blood was now pooling around her, she felt like she was going to pass out. _

_Even in the ripping pain that she was in, when she pulled herself up she started stumbling back to her room, slipping and falling each time. It felt like an eternity had passed before she eventually skidded back to where she had come from._

_But it was empty._

_The bed was gone. The furniture gone… the room was a shell._

_All except for a small incubator in the centre of the room. _

"_Oh my god…" Sidney whispered, the tears freely falling still and her hands shaking as she pulled herself closer…and closer…and closer. The noise was gut-wrenching, causing just as much agony as the tidal wave of needles that she felt were pummelling her stomach._

_There was a silhouette underneath the blankets that had been placed snugly in the crib, crying was echoing around the room so much that she had to put her hands over her ears to try and block it out, but to no avail._

_In a moment of desperation, she tore back the blankets and screamed. There was no baby there. The silhouette had been the haunting mask that had terrorised her through the most part of her life stood sinisterly out of the cot._

"Sidney! Wake up!"

Jolting forwards, Sidney grabbed hold of whoever was shaking at her, throwing the attacker down onto the bed. Her fight or flight instinct kicked in and she was shaking with supressed panic, fear and rage.

But it was Kirby, who looked beyond petrified.

"Sidney! Please! It's me! You were screaming and shouting in your sleep! Please it's just me" Kirby shouted, praying it would get through to her.

Once Sidney had seen her friend beneath her looking so alarmed, her grip loosened and she stopped applying so much pressure down onto her shoulders.

"Oh my…oh my god." Sidney slumped backwards, tears springing to her eyes. The long shirt she had changed into was dripping with sweat and her hands were trembling.

"It's okay… I'm so sorry…I didn't mean to scare you," there were tears in Kirby's eyes too, Sidney had looked murderous, like she wanted to kill her.

"I'm sorry…I'm sorry." Sidney wept quietly. It had been so real. She could still smell the sterile scent that the hospital gave off, and there was a grappling pain in her stomach like she had been clenching it for hours.

When Kirby wrapped her arms around her, she didn't pull away, just buried her head into her shoulder.


End file.
